I LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, f 



HINTS ON BIBLE READINGS. 



HINTS ON 



BIBLE READ I N G S, 



WITH A COLLECTION OF 



READINGS FROM VARIOUS SOURCES. 



BY 



REV. JNO. C. HILL, 

PASTOR PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, ADRIAN, MICH. 



') 

f 



" Preach trie Word. 



X* 



NEW YORK: 
ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH & COMPANY, 

900 BROADWAY, COR. 20th ST. 







a^ 



^ >■ 



0° 



COPYRIGHT, 1877, BY 

ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH & COMPANY. 



EDWARD O. JENKINS, 

PRINTER AND STEREO TYPER, 

20 NORTH WILLIAM ST., N. Y. 



ROBERT RUTTER, 

BINDER, 

84 BEEKMAN ST., N. Y. 



CONTENTS. 
PAET I. 

I.— A Plea, 

II.— How to Prepare a Bible Reading, 
III.— How to Give a Bible Reading, 
IV. — Gathered Hints, . 

V.— A Word on Bibles, . 



15 
19 

22 
25 
30 



PAET II. 



BIBLE READINGS. 

I.— The Word of God, 35 

II.— The Bible, 38 

III.— How to Study the Bible, 43 

IY.— What and How to Preach, 44 

V.— The Four Gospels, 46 

VI. — Epistle to the Ephesians, 52 

VII.— The Epistle to the Hebrews, .... 56 

VIII.— The Government of God, 62 

IX.— Jesus the Christ, 63 

X. — Seven Proofs of Christ's Divinity, ... 65 

XI.— Seven Grand Facts about the Blood, ... 67 

XII.— The Preciousness of Our Lord, .... 69 

XIII.— Christ in First Corinthians, . . ... .70 

XIV. — The Second Coming of the Lord Jesus, . . 72 

XV.— Things Worth Knowing, 73 

XVI.— The Spirit and Character of Christian Workers, 74 

XVII. — The Incentives to Christian Work, ... 77 

XVIII. — Christian Living, 81 

XIX.— Person and Work of the Holy Spirit, . . 83 

XX.— The Fruit of the Spirit, 85 

XXI. — The Works of the Flesh, 85 

XXII. — Walking with God, 86 

XXIII.— What we do by Faith, 87 

XXIV.— What Christ is for Us, 87 

XXV. — The Measure of the Believer's Blessings, . . 88 

XXVI. —Prayer, 89 

XXVII.— The Right Hand of the Lord, . . . .89 

XXVIII. —Faith in Exercise, 90 



6 CONTENTS, 

XXIX.— Passages for Inquirers, 90 

XXX.— Passing Under the Rod, 91 

XXXI.— Whosoever— Thou Art the Man, . . 96 

XXXII. — Why Men do not Believe in Christ, ... 98 

XXXILL— The Fool, 101 

XXXIV.— How Can I Know Whether I am a Child oe God ? 101 
XXXV. — Seven Things the Believer should Remember 

ABOUT THE FLESH, 105 

XXXVI.— Temptation, 108 

XXXVII.— Confessing Christ, 108 

XXXVIII. — What has been Done with our Sins, . . . 109 

XXXIX. — The Attitudes of the Believer, .... 109 

XL.— Trials, 110 

XLI. — What is it to be a Christian? .... 110 

XLII. — How can I Know that I am a Christian? . . Ill 

XL11I. — The Certainty of Salvation, Ill 

XLIV.— Seven Reasons for Coming to the Lord's Supper, 112 
XLV. — For a Thanksgiving Service after a Communion 

Season, 112 

XLVI. — The Believer's and God's Estimate, . . . 112 

XL VII.— Full Consecration to the Lord, .... 113 

XLVIIL— Seven u Ares" in First Corinthians VI., . . 113 

XLIX. — The "Comes" of the Old Testament, . . . 115 

L. — The u Comes" of the New Testament, . . 115 

LI. — Everlasting, 116 

LIL— The Peace Left and the Peace Given, . . . 120 

LIU. — Adoption, 124 

LIV. — Law and Grace, 125 

LV.— The Enjoyment of God and the Confession of Sin, 126 

LVI.— Self-Denial, 132 

LVIL— A Temperance Reading, 132 

L VIII.— The Three-fold Conflict of the Christian, . 133 

LIX. — Seven Things about Believers, .... 134 

LX. — What the Christian Has, 134 

LXI. — The Three-fold Assurance of Salvation, . . 135 

LXII. — Prayer and Promises, 139 

LXIIL— Joy, 140 

LXIV.— Foreign Missions, Ill 

LXV.— Why Does the Christian Sin? . . . .142 



PART I. 



PREFACE. 



^PHIS manual is only intended as a bundle of sug- 
*• gestions. Inquiry is often made for such a book, 
and this is an humble attempt to supply the want ; 
the writer's aim being chiefly to give the reader 
suggestive material that can be wrought out in the 
pulpit, prayer-meeting, or closet. 

The compiler would here express his thanks to 
those who have so kindly aided and encouraged him 
in this work and to those who have contributed to 
its pages. He would, make special mention of Rev. 
James H. Brookes, D.D., of St. Louis, Editor of 
"The Truth," * from which many of the Readings 
are taken ; the Rev. George Rodgers, author of " The 
Gospel according to Moses," etc. ; the Rev. W. J. 



* # This thoroughly Evangelical magazine, published by Mr. 
Charles B. Cox, St. Louis, Mo., gives much attention to Bible 
Readings. 



I0 PREFACE. 

Erdman, Editor of the " International Sunday-school 
Monthly ; " to the Rev. Prof. W. M. Blackburn, D.D., 
for his valuable suggestions; and to the Rev. Prof. 
L. J. Halsey, D.D., to whose suggestions the work 
owes its origin. 

Adrian, Mich., October, 1877. 



NOTE. 

The compiler does not hold himself responsible for the 

opinions or interpretations that are given by those who have 

contributed Readings ; all are signed by the authors' names or 

initials ; those of the compiler are signed 

J. C. H. 



A PLEA. 



I. 

A PLEA. 

" Bible Reading" is really a revival of exposi- 
tory preaching ; it is the natural reaction against too 
much essay-making in the pulpit, too much of bald, 
lifeless, theoretic, dogmatic preaching, and not enough 
of God's Word. Teaching a system of doctrine has 
its place in the pulpit, and all Gospel preaching is 
necessarily doctrinal, but the best way to present the 
doctrine is not in its formulated dress as found in a 
condensed creed, but to present the Scripture, and 
from it the doctrine will flow. Let the Word form 
your system, let it mould doctrine, let not your sys- 
tem mould the Scripture. 

A Bible Reading presents a large quantity of the 
Bible, and no matter how simple the reading, how- 
ever commonplace the exposition, the fact that it 
is God's Word that is read and talked over, will of 
itself bring a blessing. 

It gives opportunities for a direct personal appli- 
cation of the Word. A Reading may be twenty 



l6 A PLEA. 

pointed, practical sermons from as many texts. It 
encourages extempore preaching ; one who is filled 
with the Spirit and has even a fair knowledge of 
the Word, will find that some of the mokt striking 
thoughts and illustrations will be given to him while 
he stands talking to a people with God's Word only 
in his hand, comparing Scripture with Scripture. 

It gives a variety to pulpit work. An occasional 
reading in place of a sermon will bless both pastor 
and people. Many congregations have been starved 
by the mere preaching of moral platitudes with pleas- 
ing, sentimental exhortations; these things do not 
feed souls. Men's souls are hungering for God's 
Word — for bread, and the demand, alas! has often 
been met with a stone. Men can digest the Word, 
stones they can not. 



BIBLE READINGS. 



II. 

HOW TO PREPARE A BIBLE READING. 

No definite rules can be laid down. Each one 
must follow his own mental habits. We give these 
as GENERAL HINTS. Choose your topic. Take your 
Concordance and read ALL the passages there noted. 
Mark with a pencil (red or blue) those that may ap- 
pear suited to your purpose, then take your " In- 
dex " — do the same with it. Now settle on some 
good verse as a leader, e. g., on " Faith ; " Heb. xi. I 
gives a definition. Now look over your Concordance 
and Index again, and the marked passages will soon 
fall into logical order ; number them ; now read them 
over in the order you have numbered them ; if not 
in proper sequence, change about until they all fit 
one into the other, and then you have a fair Bible 
reading, provided you have spent over it enough 
time properly used. 

Do not be misled by the sound of a verse or the 
similarity of words. Dig deep and all round a verse 



r 



,20 HOW TO PREPARE A BIBLE READING 

before you give it a place in your reading. Be sure 
to get a clear conception — as clear as human under- 
standing can — of every passage you use. 

This is very simple work, and can be done by any 
one having a Bible, Concordance, and an Index ; but 
the best of Bible readings are gotten up by hard 
work — searching the Scriptures, many of them are 
long months in making. In order to make these, 
you must search the Scriptures daily, and at every 
turn you will find something new ; note it, and save 
it for future use. A good plan is this : have a lot of 
Targe envelopes the size of a note sheet, mark them 
on one corner with a topic — e. g. y Love, Assurance, 
etc. ; arrange these in alphabetical order, and when- 
ever you get an idea, lose no time to note it on a slip 
and place it in its proper envelope. File away your 
illustrations in the same way. Scrap-books are not 
well adapted to this work ; too much time is lost in 
pasting and indexing, and even then time is lost in 
gathering your material scattered all through the 
book, while by the envelope system you have all 
your scraps and verses before you at a single glance. 
The lay evangelists, Moody, Whittle, Cole, Moore- 
house, and others, use this method. 

Another method is to TAKE A WHOLE BOOK, or 



HOW TO PREPARE A BIBLE READING. 2 I 

a series of chapters from the longer books. Take, 
for instance, any of the Epistles ; ASCERTAIN A CEN- 
TRAL THOUGHT, and use it as the key to each chap- 
ter. Suppose we have Romans. A central idea is 
i. 1 6 : The gospel of Christ — the power of God unto 
salvation — to every one that believeth, Jew and Greek. 

Man, heathen and Jew, in his relations to God, are 
then treated of in Chapters I. and II. All alike sin 
in Chapter III. But some were saved. Chapter IV. 
tells how, by faith always. The effects of faith are 
shown in Chapters V. and VI., first religious, then 
moral. But we sin even though we have faith. Chap- 
ter VII. explains why — on account of the Flesh. 
Chapter VIII. gives us the spiritual opponent of the 
Flesh, and also the proofs of our security and final 
victory. 

Now, under each of these chapters a few verses 
read and linked together by apt illustration, will 
prove intensely interesting to a meeting where there 
is a desire to-obtain large ideas of God's Word. The 
people need the Word, great quantities of it, con- 
nected views of it ; and a " bird's-eye view," given in 
this way, of an Epistle, Gospel, or prophecy, will 
create an interest where there is none, and add 
where it already exists. 



III. 

HOW TO GIVE A BIBLE READING. 

This will depend on the place, time,- and audience. 
In the social church prayer-meetings the ordinary 
plan is to 

WRITE THE REFERENCES ON SLIPS 

and distribute these among the people, and by 
them read as they are called for by the leader, and 
comment offered by leader and meeting as occasion 
offers. 

Another : To have the 

REFERENCES MARKED ON A BLACK-BOARD, 

or, better, on a sheet of white paper, with black 
crayon, so that all can turn to each passage. In this 
plan there is the advantage of having the whole com- 
pany with their eyes on the Word ; in the other, only 
one reads, and then often so indistinctly that only a 
few can hear. Ample time, however, must be given, 
so that every one may be able to find the place. 



HO W TO GIVE A BIBLE READING. 23 

In large meetings, or in regular Sabbath church 
services, these plans could not be carried out. In 
these the Bible reading takes the place of a 
SERMON. It may be written like a sermon and read 
like a sermon ; but the most effectual method is to 
read each passage from the printed page of the Bible 
itself, the reader turning to each passage as he reads. 
In order to do this quickly, mechanical appliances 
are used. My own plan is often thus : My " key- 
words " and references are on a sheet of note pa- 
per on the desk. My " Bible reading Bible " is in- 
dexed on the edge of the leaves with a little tag of 
bank-note paper, projecting about the eighth of inch 
from the edge of the leaf at which each book begins, 
so that each book required may be turned to instantly. 
If a still easier method is desired, " Verse Indica- 
tors " may be used. These may be made of thin 
Bristol-board of this size and shape, 



with two slits cut up to within a quarter of an inch 
from the end, and on this mark a number or a letter 
which corresponds to a letter or number on your 



24 



HOW TO GIVE A BIBLE READING. 



notes of references. This can be slipped on the edge 
of the page on which is the verse required, and it can 
thus be instantly referred to, as in any indexed book. 
The Bible will present this appearance when thus 
prepared for a reading : 




IV. 

GATHERED HINTS. 

" As all the writers of sacred Scriptures wrote or 
spoke to be understood, we must interpret their lan- 
guage as we interpret the language of common life." 

JOSEPH ANGUS, D.D. 

The most comprehensive rule for Bible Reading 
is : " Compare Scripture with Scripture ; put together 
1 things spiritual and spiritual/ It is by the observ- 
ance of this rule alone that we become sure of the 
meaning of any passage." 

JOSEPH ANGUS, D.D. 

" The generality of Scripture hath such a context- 
ure and coherence one part with another, that small 
insight will be gained by reading it confusedly. There- 
fore read the whole in order." 

DR. FRANCIS ROBERTS. 



2 6 OA THERED HINTS. 

" The word of God is plain in the self: and if there 
appear any obscuritie in one place, the Holy Ghost, 
which is never contrarious to himself, explains the 
same more clearly in other places. ,, 

JOHN KNOX, " Histories II., 284. 

Thus, as is truly said, " The basis of Bible Read- 
ings is the self-luminosity, the self-interpreting power 
of the Holy Scripture." Where one passage is not 
clear to a reader, he must " search," and other places 
will open the truth more clearly. 

We must come to the study of the Bible on the 
" Bible reading plan," anxious to know what it has 
to tell us, not seek its echo to something we have 
already accepted as the truth. 

" The inductive method is better than the deduct- 
ive, for it promotes enquiry rather than argument." 
" A spirited Bible reading is a hunt after truths. 
Hence, it is usually well to put the theme in the 
form of a question — this promotes a ' search for hid 
treasures ' — rather than proof-texts to support a pre- 
stated dogma." 

" Beware of Eisegesis — of putting into a text what 
it does not really contain. Some texts have been 
vaccinated with ideas foreign to their original nature/' 



GA THERED HINTS. 2 J 

" The text or passage on which the theme is based 
should be unquestionably clear and pertinent, not 
one of doubtful translation or import, e. g. y it would 
not be well to base t devout meditation ' on ' Isaac 
went into the field to meditate/ for he was not likely 
to be meditating very religiously just then, as — Re- 
becca was coming/'* 

Never accept a "new rendering" a "revised trans- 
lation " unless more than one author supports it. 
Alford is not always safe ; consult in addition Lange, 
Wordsworth, and Tischendorf on the New, and Van 
der Hooght (whose edition is the textus receptus), 
Michaelis, Davidson or Lange on the Old Testament. 

There is a tendency to strain the interpretation of 
allegory and type. There are extremes ; one, the 
turning of everything into a type. The boards and 
even the pins of the tabernacle, the snuffers, the 
colors, are made to do service as interpreters and 
proofs of Gospel truths. The other extreme is to see 
but little or nothing in the types, to almost ignore 
the Old Testament facts, persons, and things; the 
truth evidently lies between, and it may not be out 
of place to bring together the following excerpts on 



* Professor Blackburn. 



2g GATHERED HINTS. 

THE INTERPRETATION OF ALLEGORY AND TYPE. 
"In allegory or type we are not to expect an agree- 
ment between the verbal sense and the allegorical 
meaning in all points. In the latter it is enough 
if the two things compared touch in one point, and 
in the former, things must not be expected to touch 

in all." 

" In the case of a type, it is important to remember 
that the scope or intention of God in instituting it 
can be gathered only from the Bible." 

« It is important that neither types nor parables 
be made the first or sole source of Scripture doctrine. 
Doctrines otherwise proved, may be further illustrated 
or confirmed by them, but we are not to gather doc 
trine exclusively or primarily from their representa- 

tions." 

"Types are prophetic, and maybe used to prove 
as well as to illustrate the Gospel. Examples, analo- 
gies, and resemblances not announced as typical, are 
illustrative only. They explain the truth rather than 

>> * 
prove. 

THE INTERPRETATION OF PROPHECY 
is too great a subject to be handled in this work. 
"V^pTAngus, D.D. "The Bible Hand-book," pp. 2 74 - 
276. London Ed. 



GA THERE D HINTS. 



2 9 



The following, from Sir Isaac Newton, contains much 
wisdom on it : ili What, and what manner of time/ are 
both proper objects of inquiry in studying the proph- 
ets ; but then, we must remember that God gave us 
their predictions rather as a part of our moral train- 
ing than to gratify our curiosity, and t He means that 
His providence, and not ours, should be manifested 
by them to the world/ " 

Bengel's rule is, apply thyself to the text and apply 
the text to thyself. 

Cecil says : " The right way to interpret Scripture 
is to take it as we find it, without any attempts to 
force it into any particular system." 



V. 

A WORD ON BIBLES. 

Every one must choose a Bible to suit himself, 
just as he would a hat or a coat. The Bible that 
would suit a Sunday-school teacher might not suit a 
minister. We will, therefore, give a brief description 
of the various editions offered. 

THE BAGSTER 
is the longest-paged Bible of the 8vo size. Its type 
is a little different from the ordinary minion, more 
brilliant. It has center-column references and a small 
margin. Its index is concise and very good. Its 
Cruden has only the references without context, and 
is in very small type. Its maps are fine, but not 
bold. Its binding is of the best, and is silk-sewn. 

THE COLLINS BIBLE, 
bound by the American Tract Society, has the same 
page as the Bagster, only shorter, center references. 



A WORD ON BIBLES. 3 r 

It is bound with index, and Cruden with context. 
Its maps are all together. The other matter is full 
and well condensed ; silk-sewn. 



THE EYRE AND SPOTTISWOODE 

has a broad page, two side columns of references, 
thus giving, with an ample margin, considerable blank 
space for notes ; while the references are as full as in 
others. It has a condensed index and good Cruden 
with context. Maps all together, tables, etc., about 
as in others. This Bible can be had sewn with either 
linen or silk, both in levant morocco, kid-lined, as 
all these books are ; the silk-sewing costing two or 
three dollars more than the other. 

THE OXFORD 

is much the same as the Eyre and Spottiswoode, 
except that the Cruden has no context. 

THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY 

publish a Bible the same in appearance as the Oxford 
and Eyre and Spottiswoode, with cut flaps, flexible, 
turkey morocco. Maps, but no index or other matter. 



32 



A WORD ON BIBLES. 



THE AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY 



publish an edition bound in levant, kid lining, silk- 
sewn ; and is really the best book for those who do 
not want one that is an attempt to condense all 
human knowledge between its covers. This book, 
of course, contains only the Bible, " without note or 
comment." The page is almost the same in size and 
appearance as the Bagster. 



PART II. 



BIBLE READINGS. 



I. 

THE WORD OF GOD. 

Its Names. — 2 Pet. iii. 2-10 ; Rom. iii. 2 ; Acts xiii. 46-49 ; 
2 Tim. ii. 15 ; Phil. ii. 16 ; Acts xx. 32 ; Rom. x. 8, Cf. 17 ; 
1 Cor. ii. 16; 2 Cor. v. 19; Eph. vi. 17 ; Col. iii. 16. 



2 TIMOTHY 111. 15. 

Wise unto Salvation. — Isa. lv. 3 ; Rom. x. 17 ; John v. 24 ; 
vi. 63; Acts xi. 14; James i. 21. 

Through Faith. — Heb. xi. 6 ; Acts iii. 16 ; xiii. 38, 39 ; Rtom. 
iii. 19-26 ; v. 1. 

In Christ Jesus. — John iii. 16, 36 ; xi. 25 ; xiv. 6 ; Acts iv. 
12 ; Eph. ii. 1-10 ; 2 Tim. i. 12 ; 1 John v. 9-13. 

The Book and the Person. — (1). The Scriptures testify of 
Christ, 1 John v. 9 ; John v. 39, 46 ; Luke xxiv. 25-27, 44- 
47 ; Acts x. 43. (2). The Book is Jesus Christ, written, Cf. 
Prov. viii. 22-31, and John i. 1-5. He is the Scripture alive 
and acting, John i. 14. We are therefore "looking unto 
Jesus " (Heb. xii. 2) when we seek direction from the Word. 
The Lord manifests himself unto us by the Spirit illumi- 
nating the Word. John xiv. 20-26 ; xvi. 12-15. 



2 TIMOTHY iii. l6. 

All Scripture is by the Spirit of God.— 2 Sam. xxiii. 2 ; 
Acts i. 16; iv. 24, 25; xxviii. 25; 1 Cor. ii. 4, 5, 9-13; 

(35) 



36 BIBLE READINGS, 

Heb. i. 2, Cf. xii. 25 ; ii. 1-4; iii. 7 ; ix. 7, 8 ; x, 15, Cf. Ps. 
xl. 6 ; Jer. xxxi. 33, 34 ; see also 1 John v. 10, and Rom. viii. 
16 ; 1 Pet. i. 10-12 ; 2 Pet. i. 21 ; Prov. xxx. 5, 6 ; 1 Thess. 
ii. 13. 

And is Profitable. — Ps. xix. 7-1 1 ; cxix. 1, 2, 18, 162, etc.; 
Prov. i. 29-33; ii. 1-6; iii. 13-24; Jer. xxiii. 16-29; John 
xvii. 17; Heb. iv. 12; Deut. v. 28, 29; Josh. i. 1-9; Rev. 
i. 3- 

For Doctrine. — Deut. vi. 4-9; Ps. cxix. 97-100; Acts xv. 
35; xviii. 11, 24-28; Rom. xv. 4; 1 Tim. iv. 6, 13, 16; 
vi. 3 ; 2 Tim. iv. 1-5. 

For Reproof. — The same Greek word is found in John xvi. 8 
(Marg.), and Cf. Acts. ii. 37; Jas. ii. 9; Matt, xviii. 15, and 
Lk. iii. 19, Cf. Mk. vi. 18. John knew what was written in 
Leviticus. Accordingly reproof has three phases : (1). Tell- 
ing one his fault ; (2). Convincing of sin ; (3). Conviction, as 
a court term. In (1) and (2) God's Word is a mirror ; in (3) 
it is a sentence. (1). Titus i. 9, 13. Cf. Eph. iv. 14, 15 ; 
Titus ii. 15 ; 2 Tim. iv. 2 ; ii. 23-25 ; 1 Tim. v. 20 ; Rev. iii. 
19 ; Prov. vi. 23 ; Heb. xii. 5, 6. 

(2). John xvi. 8 ; Rom. iii. 20 ; vii. 9-13 ; Gal. iii. 21, 22 ; 
1 Cor. xiv. 23-25. 

(3). John viii. 46; Jas. ii. 9; Compare Ps. cxix. 130 and 
Hos. vi. 4-6 with John iii. 19-21, and Eph. v. 11-13 ; John 
xii. 46-48. 

For Correction.— The same Greek word is found in Lk. xiii. 
13; Acts xv. 16; Heb. xii. 12. Correction therefore is : (1). 
Restoration; Ps. cxix. 9, 133; John xiii. 1-10, Cf. Gal. vi. 
1,2; John xv. 3 ; Eph. v. 25-27. For illustration compare 
the reproof Lk. xxii. 61, 62, and the restoration, John xxi. 13- 

17. 

(2). Comfort after chastisement; Ps. xciv. 12; cxix. 50, 
54, 67, 92 ; 1 Thess. iv. 18. 



BIBLE READINGS. 



37 



For Instruction in Righteousness. — The same Greek 
word is found in Eph. vi. 4 ; Heb. xii. 8, 1 1 ; and is sometimes 
rendered discipline (treating as a disciple). Ps. cxix. 7, 11, 
104, 105 ; Prov. iv. 10-13 > J°^ n vm * 3 1 * 3 2 > I Cor. x. 11 ; 
2 Cor. x. 3-6. 

2 TIMOTHY iii. 17. 

God's purpose in giving us the Scriptures is that the man of 
God may be 

1. Perfect. — Rom. viii. 3, 4 ; xii. 1, 2 ; 2 Cor. vi. 14 to vii. 1 ; 

Eph. ii. 10 ; Col. i. 28 ; ii. 6, 7, Cf. 2, 3 ; 1 Thess. iii. 12, 13 ; 
v. 23, 24 ; Heb. x. 19-25 ; xii. 1, 2 ; 1 Pet. ii. 21-25. 

2. Thoroughly Furnished unto all good works. — 

Phil. ii. 12-16 ; iii. 8-15 ; 1 Thess. i. 9, 10; Titus ii. 10-14; 
iii. 4-8. 



THE WORD OF GOD AS RELATED TO BIRTH; 
GROWTH; FOOD. 

I PETER i. 22 — ii. 3. 

Birth. — 1 Pet. i. 22 ; John iii. 1-17. Baptism is a figure of life 
through death (Rom. vi. 3). Regeneration is life through 
birth. Therefore the water of John iii. 5 is not the water 
of death (baptism), but the water of the world (see refer- 
ences under " For Correction." (1). Restoration), and of 
life, John iv. 10, 14, 23 ; xx. 31 ; Acts v. 20 ; Jas. i. 18 ; 
2 Pet. i. 4 ; 1 John iii. 9, Cf. v. 1, 4. (See also "Wise unto 
Salvation/' p. 2.) 

The Contrast of i Peter i. 23. — Corruptible Seed, 1 Peter 
i. 24 ; Matt. xv. 1-9, Cf. Mk. vii. 1-23 ; Matt. vii. 21-29. In- 
corruptible Seed, 1 Pet. i. 25 ; Ps. cxix. 89; 2 Cor. i. 19-22 



38 BIBLE READINGS. 

2 Pet. i. 20, Cf. Matt. xv. 9, (notice the plural ; Col. 11. 22 ; 
I Tim. iv. 1) with Col. ii. 8 ; 2 Thess. ii. 15 ; Jude iii. Three 
questions for every Scripture : (1). Who speaks? (2). To 
whom? (3). What? God's rule for hearers and readers 
of the words of men, Is. viii. 19, 20; Acts xvii. 11 ; Eph. iv. 
11— 15 with 1 Cor. xiv. 26-32. 

Growth. — 1 Pet. ii. 1, Cf. 2 Pet. iii. 16, 17; 1 Pet. ii. 2 ; 2 Pet. 
iii. 18 ; Eph. iv. 15 ; 2 Thess. i. 3, Cf. 1 Thess. i. 6 ; ii. 13 ; 
Luke ii. 40, 52; viii. II, 15 ; Acts xii. 24; xix. 20. 

The Food.— 1 Pet. ii. 2 ; Heb. v. 11-14, Cf. John xvi. 12, 25 ; 

Ex. xii. 8-1 1, 14, Cf. 2 Cor. v. 7, 8 and John vi. 53-57 ; Is. Iv. 

1-3 and John vi. 30-35 ; Ex. xvi. 12-22 ; Deut. viii. 1-9; Ps. 

lxxxi. 13, 16; cxix. 103; Ezek. iii. 3, Cf. Rev. x. 9, 10 and 

- Num. xxi. 4-6 ; Job xxiii. 12 ; Jer. xv. 16. 



FINALLY. 
Col. iii. 16, 17 ; Eph. vi. 17, 18 ; Acts xx. 32 ; 2 Pet. i. 2. 

CHARLES M. WHITTELSEY. 



II. 

THE BIBLE, 



The word Bible means book ; it is the Christian's 
sacred book ; it consists of sixty-six books bound 
up in one volume, and contains 810,697 words. 
Revelation, another of its names, means to roll back 



BIBLE READINGS. 39 

the veil. A thick veil hides the future from us ; the 
Bible rolls back the veil that we may look into eter- 
nity, and behold some of its solemn realities. 

It is sometimes called the Scriptures, which means 
the writing in which God has declared His will (it is 
the covenant, or appointment). From it we learn what 
is the relation in which God stands to men, and in 
which men stand to God. 

This book has had, and now has, many enemies ; 
no pains have been spared to destroy it from the 
earth, but the book lives, and is not at all likely to 
die. If all the books that have been written against 
the Bible could be collected, and placed in one library, 
they would occupy two or three thousand times as 
much space as this one volume does. Many of those 
volumes have been written by strong-minded and 
scholarly men, but they have not annihilated the 
book that was written, for the most part, by unlearned 
and obscure men, who belonged to the despised na- 
tion of the Jews. The volume survives both friends 
and foes. 

The Bible, though written by different- pens, has 
one author and one plan from beginning to end. In 
it we see a regularly progressive development of doc- 
trine and truth from Genesis to Revelation. Each 



40 BIBLE READINGS. 

book has some special central truth which it unfolds ; 
and every book is linked in progressive order with 
those which go before, and those which follow after. 
The volume is a ladder of sixty-six steps. Genesis 
is the first and lowest. Revelation is the last and 
highest. The first and last books are a good deal 
alike, as to the subjects treated on, but there is a 
wonderful contrast in the way they are treated. In 
Genesis we see man driven away from the tree of 
life (Gen. iii. 22-24) \ m Revelation man is welcomed 
back to it (Rev. xxii.) In one we read of the creation 
of the Sun : in the other that there is no need of the 
Sun. In Genesis there is great sorrow; in Revela- 
tion all tears are wiped away. In one we have the 
seed-plat ; in the other the harvest. Genesis is full 
of buds and blossoms ; Revelation is filled with rich, 
ripe fruit. It should be deeply impressed on our 
minds that these sixty-six books are not unconnected 
writings, held together by the boards of one volume. 
No ; they are so many parts of one whole, in which 
the light shines more and more, until the plan of sal- 
vation is seen fully unfolded. In Genesis we see 
man's effort and failure; in Exodus God's redemp- 
tion and its consequences ; in Leviticus the redeemed 
of God are shown how to worship Him ; in Numbers 



BIBLE READINGS. 4 1 

the redeemed are seen as failing to walk in the high 
places to which they have been called. Wilderness 
wanderings are in consequence of backsliding and 
failure. In Deuteronomy we see the redeemed 
and backsliding people reclaimed and reconsecrated 
previous to entering into abiding rest. It is a review 
of the past and a commentary on the other four 
books. In Joshua we see the redeemed people going 
in, taking possession of and resting in the land ; but 
the rest is connected with conflict. The Book of 
Joshua should be read along with the Epistle to the 
Ephesians. It has in shadow what Ephesians has in 
substance, namely, the people of God in the heaven- 
lies, the higher state, the higher life ; not on earth 
looking up to heaven, but, in spirit, in heaven look- 
ing down on the earth. 

We ought to have a correct idea of the special 
topic and character of every book in the Bible. We 
are persuaded that each book has its own leading 
characteristic, something that is peculiar to itself. 
The man who pays attention to this will read intelli- 
gently and profitably. 

Read the Bible right through. What would you 
know of a friend's letter if you were to read the ad- 
dress one day, the signature the next, and a little in 



42 



BIBLE READINGS. 



the middle the third day? Read it right through 
and you will know the music, the rapture and sorrow, 
the triumph and tears of the Bible. Read it right 
through, and you will feel as if you had never read 
it before. I never heard of a man who read it right 
through and then said he did not believe in it. Read 
it all through and it will be sure to get hold of you 
somewhere ; it will then get into the movement and 
become a necessity of your being ; you can not after 
that do without it. 

It is a father's letter to his wayward son, saying, 
Come home. The infinite reluctance with which God 
gives up man is seen in this book. 

Do not vindicate the Bible ; let it alone ; it needs 
no buttressing. It has been assailed ; still it is there. 
It has its own work ; it starts from its own point ; it 
gives its own message. It comes within the region 
of our feeling, our sorrow, our need, our imagination. 
It tells us all we need to know about God and salva- 
tion, about self and sin. A true reader is in subjec- 
tion to the Word. He permits it to be a law to his 
conscience and a rule to his judgment. 

GEO. RODGERS. 



BIBLE READINGS. 43 

III. 

HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 

Object in Study. — Find Christ, John v. 39; Luke xxiv. 27, 
44 ; Acts xxviii. 23 ; 2 Tim. iii. 16 ; John vi. 63 ; Ps. 
cxxxviii. 2 ; John^i. 1, 14 ; John iii. 11-13, 34. 

Life by the word, James i. 18-21 ; 1 Pet. i. 23 ; Deut. viii. 
3 ; John v. 39 ; John vi. 63 ; Ps. cxix. 130. 

Growth, Job xxiii. 12 ; Jer. xv. 16 ; John vi. 35 ; Matt. v. 
6 ; 2 Thess. ii. 13 ; Eph. v. 26. 

Power, Isa. xl. 8 ; Ps. cxix. 89 ; John xv. 7 ; Eph. vi. 17 ; 
Heb. iv. 12 ; Rom. x. 17. 

Searching in study, John v. 39 ; 2 Tim. ii. 15. 

Dependence on the Holy Spirit, John xv. 13 ; xvi. 26 ; 
Jude xx. ; James i. 5 ; 1 Cor. ii. 9, 10, 12, 13. 

With the whole mind and heart, 1 Chron. xxviii. 9 ; 
2 Chron. xv. 2 ; Isa. xxvi. 3. 

Seek light from any who are taught by the Spirit, 2 Peter 
i. 20, 21 ; 1 Tim. iv. 13-16. 

After such study have clear positive views, 2 Tim. i. 8-13 ; 
Ps. Ii. 12, 13. 

Pray before reading. 

Read and pray. 

Search and pray. 

Review and pray. 

Hold fast, 2 Tim. iii. 14-17 ; iv. 7. 

Results to be expected from right study : Personality of 
God, Son, Holy Ghost known in the soul. Fruits of the 
Spirit in life. 

H. M. PARSONS. 



44 BIBLE READINGS. 



IV. 
WHAT AND HOW TO PREACH. 

Man a Sinner. — Under condemnation awaiting penalty, Rom. 
i. ii. iii. 

God's Remedy. — Christ crucified, i Cor. ii. 2 ; xv. 3 ; 1 Pet. i. 
19, 20 ; Rev. xiii. 8. 

(1). Christ crucified the fulfillment of the Word, Gen. iii. 
15, 21 ; iv. 4 ; viii. 20 ; xxii. 7, 8 ; xlii. ; Ex. xii. 5-7. The 
tabernacle and its services explained by the cross ; so the 
sacrifices and feasts of Leviticus ; so the miracle of Num. 
xxi. ; so Elijah on Carmel, 1 Kings xviii. ; so prophecies, 
Isa. liii. The shadow of the cross reaches from Genesis to 
Revelation. We can take hold of most any verse and lift 
up the cross from it. 

(2). In preaching the cross we show the nature of sin, 
Luke xx. 13-15 ; John xv. 24 ; xvi. 9 ; Acts iii. 14 ; Acts 
vii. 52. 

(3). Wrath of God against sin, Gal. iii. 13 ; 1 Pet. ii. 24 ; 
iii. 18 ; Lev. xxvii. 29 ; Ps. xl. 12 ; xxii. 1 ; lxxxviii. 7, 14-16 ; 
Isa. liii. 4-6, 10. 

(4). God's love to the sinner, John iii. 16 ; Rom. v. 6-8 ; 
iv. 25 ; 1 John iii. 16 ; iv. 9, 10. 

(5). God just in justification of those deserving condem- 
nation, Rom. iii. 24-26 ; Isa. liii. 6 ; John v. 24 ; 1 John i. 7 ; 
Rom. v. 1 ; vi. 6, 7, 22 ; Rom. viii. 1. 

^Preach Resurrection. — The apostles preached it, Acts i. 22 ; 
ii. 24, 32 ; iii. 15, 26 ; iv. 10, 33 ; v. 30-32 ; vii. 55, 56 ; x. 
40-43 ; xiii. 30-39 ; xvii. 31 ; xxvi. 8-22, 23. 



BIBLE READINGS, 



45 



Doctrines and truths concerning Christ proved by 
it. — (i). Christ as Son of God, Rom. iv. 4 ; Heb. i. 5. 

(2). The promised seed of Abraham, Gal. iii. 16 ; Rom. 
ix. 7 ; Acts xiii. 32, 33. 

(3). The promised son of David, Acts i. 32 ; xiii. 34. 

Justification declared by it, Rom. iv. 24, 25 ; v. 1 ; 1 Cor. 
xv. 17. 

Eternal life is Christ's resurrection-life in us, the new birth 
linked on to Him, John iii. 3, 5 ; Rom. vi. 3-5 ; Rom. vi. 22, 
23 ; Gal. ii. 20 ; Eph. i. 19-23 ; ii. 5, 6. All the hopes of the 
believer centre in the coming resurrection of his own body, 
of which the resurrection of Christ's body is the promise and 
type, 1 Cor. xv. 20-23, 49-52 ; 1 Thess, iv. 14 ; Rom. viii. 
11, 19-25. 

How to Preach. — Read Luke viii. ix., x., Christ's instructions. 

(1). The preacher should be in conscious communion with 

God, Ps. Ii. 12, 13 ; Acts iv. 31 ; 2 Tim. i. 14 ; Acts vi. 4 ; 

1 Cor. ii. 12, 13. 

Peter was praying when he was sent to Cornelius. Paul 
was praying when the jailor came to him. 

u Instant in prayer " should be our motto if we would 
have power. 

(2). Boldness in use of God's word — confidence in our 
weapon, Rom. i. 15, 16 ; 1 Pet. iv. 11 ; Tit. ii. 15 ; Jer. i. 
6-10 (study Jeremiah's experience all the way through upon 
this point) ; 1 Cor. ii. 3 ; 2 Cor. iv. 8-10 ; 2 Cor. vii. 4-6 ; 

2 Cor. xii. 9, 10. 

(3). As witnesses — not in worldly wisdom or argument, 
1 Cor. i. 17-19 ; 1 Cor. ii. 4, 5 ; 2 Timothy ii. 23-25. Christ 
as witness, John iii. 11, 32, 33 ; so apostles, Acts x. 39, 41, 
42 ; xxii. 14, 15 ; Acts xxvi. 22, 23 ; 2 Tim. ii. 1, 2 ; 1 Tim. 
iv. 12. 



46 BIBLE READINGS. 

(4). Dependence on the Holy Spirit, Luke xxi. 15 ; 1 Thess. 
i. 5 ; Acts v. 32. 

(5). With sense of responsibility to God, 1 Cor. iii. 9 ; 
Gal. i. 10 ; 1 Cor. iv. 3, 4 ; 1 Thess. ii. 4, 6. 

(6). Adaptation to men, 1 Cor. ix. 20-22; xiv. 18-20; 
I Cor. x. 32, 33. 

Keep in contact with men by engaging in personal work. 
The personal application of the gospel in contact with indi- 
viduals should go hand-in-hand with preaching to audiences. 
In this way we keep in sympathy with men, know their 
needs, and can adapt our public presentations of truth to 
them. Illustrations, to make the gospel clear, should be 
freely used, always making them the background of the pic- 
ture that shows " Jesus only/' 

(7). In humility, 1 Cor. iv. 10-13 J Acts xx. 19. 

(8). In sincerity, 2 Cor. iv. 1, 2 ; 2 Cor. ii. 17 ; 1 Thess. 

3,5- 

(9). In love, 1 Cor. xiii. 1, 7-9 ; 2 Cor. v. 20 ; 1 Thess. ii. 
(10). With joy, Luke x. 17 ; Isa. lxiv. 5. 

D. W. WHITTLE. 



V. 

THE FOUR GOSPELS. 

In the four gospels we have four different pictures 
of Christ : the same Christ in four aspects ; the gar- 
den of Eden was watered by one river, which, when 
outside of Eden, was divided into four rivers which 



BIBLE READINGS. 



47 



ran in different directions, and watered the country. 
In Revelation one river of the water of life is seen 
coming out from the throne of God. The Christ of the 
gospel is the gospel, is the true water of life, and this 
river is divided into four rivers, and every river is full 
of water, full of Christ. We have the Matthew river, 
the Mark river, the river of Luke, and the river of 
John. We need the four gospels, the Acts, and the 
Epistles to give us a whole Christ. In Matthew 
Christ is seen as the King, the royal law-giver; in 
Mark He is seen as the mighty worker, the servant 
of God ever obeying His laws, and as the servant of 
man ever ministering to his need. In Luke Christ is 
seen as the friend of man, as a brother; and in John 
He is seen as the Son of God, as the divine One. No 
naan can understand Christ who does not study Him 
as seen in all the gospels. Matthew's is the Hebrew 
gospel ; it shows how the Old Testament ripened into 
the New ; how the New grew out of the Old ; it is a 
history of the fulfillment of that which was spoken 
by the prophets. It is the gospel of the kingdom ; 
and the Sermon on the Mount gives us the principles 
on which Christ will govern His kingdom. If you 
desire to know how to live as a loyal subject of 
Christ's kingdom, read and study this gospel. It is 



48 BIBLE READINGS. 

the gospel of rejection ; in it we see how the Jews 
rejected their King, for which they lost their national 
life, and were driven into all nations, in which they 
now lie buried. Nationally they will have a resurrec- 
tion, and, as a nation, they will yet receive Christ as 
their King. Until then the gospel of Matthew will 
never be fully understood by them. 

Mark has given us the gospel of action, rapid, vig- 
orous, vivid ; with swiftness of movement we are 
borne along from one great event to another ; power 
for service is the characteristic of this gospel. If 
you want to know how to serve God acceptably, read 
and study the gospel of Mark ; consider Christ as the 
faithful servant, and try to imitate Him. It is inter- 
esting and instructive to compare this gospel with 
the others, and to observe what Mark omits and 
what he adds. Between this and the other gospels 
there is a great difference. Mark does not give His 
genealogy nor the stoly of His wonderful birth ; 
neither does he make any reference to Bethlehem. 
All this is in place in Matthew, and would be out of 
place in Mark. His childhood at Nazareth is men- 
tioned in Luke, but it is omitted in Mark. John 
makes reference to His pre-existence and His divine 
glory, but Mark never refers to anything of this kind, 



BIBLE READINGS. 49 

Mark does not give us the Sermon on the Mount ; 
only gives us four miracles, and records no long dis- 
course. He notices what Christ did as a servant 
rather than what He said as a teacher. 

Luke's gospel was written for the Gentiles, the 
preface is addressed to a Gentile convert, and the* 
writer is supposed to have been a Gentile Christian. 

He tells us a good deal about His birth, His hu- 
man relations, His infancy and boyhood. All this 
is in keeping with the design of his gospel, for it is 
the gospel of humanity. Here Christ is seen as a 
man amongst men, as a human friend, a real brother. 
If I want to know how I am to live, as a man among 
men, as in the world, but not of the world, I turn to 
the gospel of Luke, and try to be like Christ as I see 
Him in that human gospel. Men generally prefer 
this gospel to the other three. They feel they can 
understand the Christ of this gospel, for He comes 
near to them and makes Himself one of them. Those 
who like to tell nice stories to children go to this 
gospel for them. In reading this gospel one feels 
that God has come close to us in Christ. As I read 
it I feel that God touches my heart, and with the 
bands of a man He is drawing me close to Himself. 
It is Christ as seen in Luke that wins our heart's best 
3 



5o BIBLE READINGS. 

love and secures our trust. He is as I see Him here 
the object of my adoration and delight. Study Christ 
as you see Him in this gospel. Our trust is not in a 
creed we learn nor in a scheme of salvation which we 
are taught, but in a person we know. Those know 
Him best, love Him most, and take on most of His 
image, who are most occupied with Him as seen in 
this gospel. 

In the gospel of John He is manifested as the 
eternal word, the only begotten Son of God. This 
gospel tells of the Godhead of Jesus Christ. Read 
Luke and John together, for John is the counterpart 
of Luke, the gospel of Christ's humanity. In Luke 
He is seen as the Son of man, in John as the Son of 
God. In Luke Jesus comes down into man's circum- 
stances, so that He may show us how much He loves 
us, and that He may supply our need. In John we 
see Him drawing men up to Himself, from among the 
lost race. You could spend hours in looking up the 
names and titles of Christ as found in this gospel. 
They will give you much food for thought. There 
He is seen as the Word, the Creator, the Light, the 
Lamb, the Manna, etc., etc. 

This gospel contains no parables. In this it is un- 
like Matthew and Luke ; they have recorded many 



BIBLE READINGS. 



51 



parables. John has recorded eight miracles, and six 
of these are not found in any other gospel. 

The glory of Christ is seen in this gospel as it is 
seen in no other, and John is careful to let us know 
that God gave Him glory that He might give it to 
His people. 

It will be found exceedingly instructive to con- 
sider the writers themselves, as well as the gospels 
they have written. If you look closely into this sub- 
ject you will find that the view each writer has taken 
of Christ has something to do with his own personal 
character. Each vessel was prepared for the particu- 
lar truth that was to be put into it. 

Matthew was by birth a Jew and by office a pub- 
lican. He was an officer in the great Roman Empire. 
Just the man to write about the kingdom of God, 
and of Christ as the King. Mark was Paul's servant 
(2 Tim. iv. 11). He could more than the others 
appreciate the perfection of Christ's service. He 
was the man to write the gospel in which He is seen 
as a servant. Matthew always thought of Christ as 
a King. Mark thought of Him as a servant rather 
than ruling. Luke was the friend and traveling com- 
panion of Paul. His gospel has been called the 
Pauline gospel, because it was doubtless prepared in 



J2 BIBLE READINGS. 

Paul's society. He was a physician, and he has told 
us much about Christ as the healer. John's contem- 
plative spirit fitted him to write about the glory of 
Christ. 

The old fathers used to say that the four faces of 
the living creatures represented Christ as now seen 
in the gospels. In Matthew He is the Lion ; in 
Mark He is the Ox ; in Luke He is seen as the 
Man ; and in John as the Eagle, which soars above 

all the others. 

GEORGE RODGERS. 



VI. 

EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 

THIS epistle, which is the Holy of holies of the 
New Testament, takes higher ground than any other 
epistle. It does not, like the letter to the Romans, 
describe man's ruin by sin, neither does it talk about 
justification by faith ; and it says nothing about the 
second coming of Christ to receive His people into 
the everlasting kingdom. It addresses the faithful 
in Christ as in the kingdom, blessed with all-spiritual 



BIBLE READINGS. 



53 



blessings in the heavenly places. The expression, 
" heavenly places," which occurs four times in this 
epistle (i. 3, 20; ii. 6; iii. 10) and is not found in any- 
other of Paul's epistles, he uses to show that the 
believer's true position is that of assured pardon and 
settled peace. The epistle was written to set forth 
the calling, dignity, and responsibility of the people 
of God. 

Here the people of God are seen, not standing on 
the earth and looking up to heaven, but in heaven 
and looking down on the earth, from which they 
have been redeemed, and out of which, in spirit, 
they have been taken. They are still in the world, 
but they are no longer of the world ; they live 
above it, in the heavenly places : theirs is the higher 
life. 

The expression "heavenly places," or, more cor- 
rectly rendered, heavenlies (see margin), occurs in vi. 
12, but there it has another meaning, and is used for 
another purpose; the passage has reference to the 
wicked spirits in the aerial regions, to that great mys- 
terious kingdom of bad spirits, which is made up of 
various agencies under one supreme head, to that 
wonderful confederation which opposes all that is 
good on the earth. Having such foes to fight, the 



54 BIBLE READINGS. 

Christian should be getting empowered in the Lord, 
and in the strength of His might, to stand against 
the strategies of the adversary. 

Our epistle is divided into two equal parts: The 
first three chapters are filled with doctrinal state- 
ments ; the second three chapters are filled with pre- 
cepts, and every precept is based upon some doctrinal 
statement that is found in the first division of the 
book. In this way privilege and responsibility are 
linked together. What God has joined let no one 
try to separate. The first three chapters, if separated 
from the last three, will make you antinomian ; the 
last three, separated from the first, will make you a 
legalist. Many of us are one-sided Christians. To 
prevent this evil — and it can be prevented — read the 
whole Bible, every book in the Bible, and every part 
of every book. This will save you from one-sided- 
ness ; it will make you a full man, a rounded out 
Christian. 

Will you now turn with me to the fifth verse of 
the first chapter of our epistle. Here the privilege 
enjoyed is that of sonship. Turn now to the first 
verse of the fifth chapter, and you will find, based on 
this privilege, the duty of following or imitating God, 
as children beloved. 



BIBLE READINGS. 



55 



In the seventh verse we read of the forgiveness of 
sins as the privilege enjoyed. The corresponding 
duty is found in iv. 32, where the Christians are com- 
manded to forgive one another in the same way as 
God has forgiven them. 

In the thirteenth verse we read that believers are 
sealed by the Holy Spirit, and in iv. 30, Paul says to 
those sealed ones, " Grieve not the Holy Spirit of 
God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemp- 
tion." 

Turn to i. 17, 18. The subject is light, light given 
to the believer, and in v. 8, those who have received 
light are commanded to walk as children of the light. 
To have light is one thing ; to walk as children of 
the light is another thing; it is, indeed 1 , a blessed 
thing to have grace to walk up to the light we have. 

In ii. 4, 5, we read how God has loved us, and in 
v. 2 we are exhorted to walk in love. 

In ii. 13 we read that those who were far off are 
brought nigh, and in iv. 17 such are exhorted not to 
walk like the heathen. 

Ch. ii. 15 shows that God has made His people one y 
and in iv. 3 they are exhorted to keep the unity of 
the Spirit. 

The doctrines and precepts of this epistle are 



56 



BIBLE READINGS. 



about equal. It will pay to seek them out and link 

GEORGE RODGERS. 



them together, 



VII. 

THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 

This interesting epistle was written about twenty- 
five or thirty years after the death and resurrection of 
Christ and ten or fifteen years before the destruction 
of Jerusalem. To understand it we must put our- 
selves, in imagination, in the position the Hebrew 
Christians were in at that time. The wicked Nero was 
at the head of the Roman Empire, and all Jews were 
his subjects. Jewish hatred of foreign rule was daily 
becoming more intense, and many of their leading 
men had determined to shake off Rome's galling 
yoke or die in the attempt. The current of revolu- 
tion had set in ; the people were ready for revolt ; 
but the Christian teachers were holding back their 
followers from that current. This caused the Jews 
to hate and persecute all Christians, believing that 
they took sides with their heathen oppressors. They 



BIBLE READINGS. 



57 



cast them out of their synagogues; would not permit 
them to enter the Temple at Jerusalem, not even 
the Court of the Gentiles, and cut them off from all 
the religious privileges of the nation. We can't fully 
understand the very trying circumstances in which 
these Hebrew Christians were placed. For by be- 
coming Christians they had lost all their sacred rights 
and privileges, and were treated as infidels and apos- 
tates. All this caused some of the weaker ones to 
falter ; they thought they had lost everything ; and 
they were almost ready to turn back to the Jewish 
religion. This epistle was written to prevent them 
from falling away from the gospel, and to encourage 
them to bear the reproach to which the Cross of 
Christ had exposed them. 

The writer, who, I think, was Paul, enters most 
lovingly into all their difficulties, and shows them 
the folly of looking only on one side of the subject. 
He desires them to think, not merely of what they 
have lost, but also of what they have gained, by 
becoming Christians. He weighs their gains against 
their losses, and shows their gain to be unspeakably 
greater than the loss ; for the glory of the new cove- 
nant, in which they then stood, was much greater 
than that of the old, which they had left. They still 
3* 



58 BIBLE READINGS. 

possessed all that was real, substantial, and abiding. 
They had lost the Temple sacrifices, but in the great 
Lamb of God they had the true sacrifice, the one to 
which all the others had pointed. They had an altar, 
a temple, and a royal high-priest, who had been ex- 
alted to the right hand of the Father. If they had 
lost an earthly Jerusalem they had obtained another, 
a better, a newer; and if they were no longer re- 
garded as citizens of Jerusalem, they were citizens 
of the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem. The same 
God who had spoken to their fathers was speaking to 
them, and giving them in Christ a far more perfect 
revelation of Himself than could be found in Jewish 
rites or Jewish scriptures. 

From their past history he shows that the golden 
thread of faith and the scarlet thread of reproach 
are always seen side by side. He refers to Abel, 
Moses, Noah, and to many others who had suffered 
for the truth ; and shows that if they endured so 
much, the Hebrew Christians need not be surprised 
at the reproach which had fallen on them for Christ's 
sake. The epistle is an earnest exhortation to cleave 
to Christ, the great high-priest ; to the true and real 
worship of God, to be steadfast, patient, and hopeful. 

The central thought of the epistle is the glory 



BIBLE READINGS. 



59 



of the new dispensation ; contrasted with and ex- 
celling that which had become old, and was just 
passing away. This thought he is expanding more 
and more all through. At the same time it is 
eminently practical. Exhortations are found every- 
where. He never loses sight of the dangers and 
needs of his brethren, nor fails to make a loving 
application of the truth to their consciences and 
their lives. Out of the writer's full and overflow- 
ing heart there flows a beautiful stream of consoling 
and instructive truth. It is a doctrinal treatise, grand 
and massive, constantly interrupted by the most fer- 
vent and affectionate admonitions, warnings, and en- 
couragements. Its language is glowing and stately, 
much like that of the latter part of Isaiah, It is 
majestic, attractive, and solemn. 

The key-word of this epistle is " BETTER." It 
occurs nine or ten times (i. 4 ; vi. 9 ; vii. 7, 19 ; viii. 
6 ; ix. 23 ; xi. 16, 40 ; xii. 24). In the first chapter 
he shows that Christ is better than the angels. In 
the second, he shows that though better, He was 
made lower than the angels (7, 9). The teaching of 
the third chapter is that Christ is better than Moses. 
In the fourth He is seen to be better than Joshua. 
From the fifth we learn that His priesthood was bet- 



60 BIBLE READINGS, 

ter than Aaron's. The sixth tells us that the new dis- 
pensation is better than the old was. In the seventh 
Christ is contrasted with Aaron, and shown to be the 
greater. In the eighth more is told us respecting the 
two covenants, and the new is shown to be better than 
the old. From the ninth and tenth chapters we learn 
that the work which Christ is now doing is better than 
any work that was done in the former dispensation. 
The eleventh chapter is all about faith and its fruits ; 
that chapter is a little book of Martyrs. The twelfth 
and thirteenth are filled with solemn exhortations. 
An anticipation of eternity breaks through those 
chapters, and, indeed, through the whole epistle. 

The words " Let us " occur twelve times (iv. I ; ii. 
14, 16; vi. 1 ; x. 22, 23, 24; xii. 1, 28 ; xiii. 13, 15). 
You will do well to look them up, and notice the 
connection in which they stand in those twelve 
places. Do the same with the word " once" which 
occurs nine times. Taken in its connection it is 
found to be most instructive (vii. 27 ; ix. 7, 12, 26- 
28 ; x. 2, 10 ; xii. 27). " We have" are precious 
words, which occur five times (iv. 14, 15 ; v. 11 ; viii. 
1 ; xiii. 10). They show how very rich the Christian 
is in all that is real. 

In four places Christ is said to be sat down (i. 3 ; 



BIBLE READINGS, 6 1 

viii. I ; x. 12 ; xii. 2). To sit down means that the 
work which was given Him to do was finished. In 
some respects Christ is now sitting down, in others 
He is still standing. But one part of His work — 
suffering for sin — is all finished ; as to that, Christ is 
sat down ; but there is another part of His work — 
His intercession — which still remains unfinished ; as 
to that He is standing. 

No man can read this epistle as it ought to be read 
— prayerfully, and with a desire to be benefited — 
— without getting exalted views of Christ ; the suf- 
ficiency of His one great sacrifice ; the efficacy of 
His intercession ; the superiority of the New Cove- 
nant ; the blessedness of a life of faith ; the high 
privileges of Christians. It is the Holy Ghost's com- 
mentary on the books of Moses. It gives a full ex- 
planation of the types of the Old Testament, and it 
makes an application of their great truths. The Old 
Testament is a lock with many mysterious wards ; 
this epistle is the key that fits those wards, opens the 
door, and reveals Christ in all His moral loveliness 
and glory. It gives the greatest encouragement to 
constancy and perseverance, and it contains some 
terrible denunciations against apostasy. To those 
who can endure the cross, it gives the sweetest con- 



62 BIBLE READINGS. 

solation. It would pay you well to spend three 
months in the prayerful study of this precious epistle. 

GEO. RODGERS. 



VIII. 

THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD. 

Its principles are embodied in facts, or in practical 

precepts. 

He judges according to every man's work, Deut. x. 17; 
2 Chron. xix. 7 ; Rom. ii. 11 ; Gal. ii. 6 ; a Eph. vi. 9 ; Col. iii. 
25 ; 1 Pet. i. 17. 

He controls what seems most accidental, Jer. xxxviii. 
7-13 ; Acts xvi. 23. 

He brings about His ends by means apparently trifling or 
contradictory, 1 Sam. ix. 3, 15, 16; Judges vii. 13-15. 

He even makes the wicked the instruments of His will, 
Neh. xiii. 2 ; Acts ii. 23. 

He forgives and is ready to forgive, Dan. ix. 24 ; 2 Chron. 
vii. 14. 

He hears and answers prayer, 2 Chron. xxxiii. 12, 13; 
Gen. xxiv. 12. 

He marks the motives of men, as in the case of Lot's 
wife and Joash, Gen. xix. 26 ; 2 Kings xiii. 9. 

He chastises them whom He most loves, as in the case of 
Moses, David, Hezekiah, Num. xx. 12 ; 2 Sam. xxiv. 11, 15 ; 
2 Chron. xxxii. 25. 



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63 



He preserveth the righteous, and none that trusteth in 
Him shall be desolate, 1 Sam. xv. 37 ; Phil. iv. 12, 18. 

Arranged by JOSEPH ANGUS, D.D. 



IX. 

JESUS, THE CHRIST. 

That our Lord Jesus Christ is the promised Mes- 
siah is proven by the exact correspondence with 
prophecy of many events in His earthly history. 

It was foretold that : (1). He should be born of a virgin, 
Isa. vii. 14. Fulfilled, Matt. i. 21-25. 

(2). He should be born at Bethlehem, Mic. v. 2. Ful- 
filled, Luke ii. 4-7. 

(3). He should be betrayed, Zech. xi. 12, 13. Fulfilled, 
Matt. xxvi. 14, 45, 46 ; xxvii. 3-10. 

(4). His followers should be scattered from Him, Zech. 
xiii. 7. Fulfilled, Mark xiv. 50. 

(5). He should be buffeted, scourged, spit on and mocked, 
Isa. 1. 6 ; Ps. xxii. 7. Fulfilled, Matt. xxvi. 6j ', 68 ; xxvii. 26. 

(6). He should be rejected of men, Ps. ii. 1 ; Isa. liii. 3. 
Fulfilled, Matt. xiv. 64. 

(7). He should be crucified, Ps. xxii. 16. Fulfilled, Matt, 
xxvii. 35. 

(8). Vinegar to drink should be given Him, Ps. lxix. 21. 
Fulfilled, Matt, xxvii. 34. 



64 BIBLE READINGS. 

(9). He should be alone in dying for sin, Ps. xxii. 16 ; Isa # 
lxiii. 3-5. Fulfilled, Rev. xix. 15. 

(10). His clothes should be divided by lot among His cruci- 
fiers, Ps. xxii. 18. Fulfilled, Mark xv. 24. 

(11). His sepulture should be a peculiar one, Isa. liii. 9. 
Fulfilled, Luke xxvii. 60. 

(12). His body should not undergo corruption, Ps. xvi. 10. 
Fulfilled, Acts ii. 31 ; xiii. 35-37. 

(13). He should rise from the dead, Ps. xvi. 8-10. Ful- 
filled, Acts ii. 23, 32. 

(14). He should ascend to heaven, Ps. lxviii. 18. Ful- 
filled, Acts i. 9-1 1 ; Luke xxiv. 51. 

(15). Blessed results should follow His ascension, Ps. 
lxviii. 18. Fulfilled, Acts % ii. 3 ; Eph. iv. 11, 12. 

Thus did the prophets testify of Him as the Mes- 
siah, and thus in His life, death, resurrection, and 
ascension to heaven, was that testimony corrobo- 
rated; all composing a mass of spiritual evidence, 
amounting to a moral demonstration, that Jesus is 
indeed the Messiah, The Christ, and behold how, 
after His resurrection, He gently, yet lovingly, up- 
braided some of His disciples for their blindness and 
unbelief (Luke xxiv. 25-35). 

SAMUEL HART. 






BIBLE READINGS. 65 



SEVEN PROOFS OF CHRIST'S DIVINITY. 

1. He is called God. Cf. Ps. xlv. 6, 7, with Heb. i. 8, 9 ; Isa. ix. 

1-6, with Matt. iv. 12-16 ; Isa. xl. 3 ; liv. 5 ; Zech. xiv. 5 ; 
Matt. i. 22, 23 ; John i. 1 ; x. 33 ; xx. 28 ; Rom. ix. 5 ; 

1 Tim. iii. 16 ; Tit. i. 3 ; ii. 13 ; 1 John v. 20. 

2. He is called the Son of God in a sense that implies sameness 

of nature with the Father. Cf. Ps. ii. 7, with Acts xiii. 33 ; 
Matt. iii. 17 ; xvi. 16 ; xvii. 5 ; xxvii. 54 ; Mark iii. 11 ; v. 7 ; 
xiv. 61, 62 ; Luke i. 35 ; x. 22 ; John i. 18, 34, 49 ; iii. 18 ; 
v. 25 ; vi. 69 ; ix. 35, 36 ; x. 36 ; xi. 4, 27 ; xix. 7 ; xx. 31 ; 
Acts viii. 37 ; Rom. i. 4 ; viii. 3 ; 1 Cor. i. 9 ; 2 Cor. i. 19 ; 
Gal. ii. 20 ; Eph. iv. 13 ; Col. i. 13 ; Heb. iv. 14 ; 2 Pet. i. 
17 ; 1 John i. 3, 7 ; ii. 22-24 J iv. 9, 10, 14, 15 ; v. 5, 10, 13 ; 
Rev. ii. 18. 

3. He is called Lord in a way that proves His infinite supe- 

riority to all creatures, Matt. xii. 8 ; xx. 30 ; xxii. 43-45 ; 
xxiv. 42 ; Mark v. 19, 20 ; ix. 24 ; xvi. 19, 20 ; Luke iii. 4 ; 
ix. 59-62 ; x. 17 ; xiii. 25 ; xxiii. 42 ; John i. 23 ; xi. 21, 22 ; 
xiii. 13 ; Acts i. 24 ; ii. 36 ; v. 14 ; vii. 59 ; ix. 6, 13 ; x. 36 ; 
Rom. i. 3 ; iv. 24 ; vi. 23 ; xiv. 8 ; 1 Cor. i. 3 ; viii. 6 ; xii. 3 ; 

2 Cor. v. 10, 11 ; Gal. vi. 14 ; Eph. iii. 11 ; Phil. ii. 11 ; Col. 
ii. 6 ; iii. 24 ; 1 Thess. iii. 13 ; 2 Thess. i. 8, 9 ; 1 Tim. i. 2 ; 
2 Tim. i. 2 ; Tit. i. 4 ; Phil. 3 ; Heb. ii. 3 ; James i. 1 ; 
1 Pet. i. 3 ; 2 Pet. i. 11 ; 2 John 3 ; Jude 14 ; Rev. xix. 16. 
The title of Lord is applied to Him more than five hundred 
times in the New Testament. 

4. He is declared to be equal with God, John iii. 35 ; v. 17, 

23 ; x. 30, 38 ; xii. 45 ; xiv. 9, 11 ; xv. 23, 24 ; xvii. 5, 21, 
23 ; Phil. ii. 6 ; Col. i. 15, 19 ; ii. 9 ; Heb. i. 1-3 ; 1 John ii. 
21, 23, 24 ; Rev. iii. 21. 



66 BIBLE READINGS. 

5. He performs the works of God ; (1) in creating, John 
i. 3, 10 ; Eph. iii. 9 ; Col. i. 16 ; Heb. i. 10 ; Rev. iii. 14 ; 

(2) in preserving and upholding, Col. i. 17 ; Heb. i. 3 ; 

(3) in forgiving sins, Mark ii. 5, 10 ; Luke vii. 48-50 ; Acts 
v. 31 ; (4) in imparting everlasting life, Luke xxiii. 42, 43 ; 
John x. 25, 40 ; vi. 47 ; x. 10, 28 ; xvii. 2 ; (5) in bestowing 
the Spirit and all spiritual blessings, Luke xvii. 5 ; xxiv. 49 ; 
John xiv. 13 ; xv. 26 ; 1 Cor. i. 4-6 ; Eph. iv. 7 ; Phil. iv. 13 , 
(6) in raising the dead, John v. 21, 25-29; vi. 40; xi. 25; 
Phil. iii. 21 ; 1 Thess. iv. 16 ; (7) in judging the world, 
Matt. vii. 22 ; xvi. 27 ; xxv. 31 ; John v. 22, 27 ; Acts x. 42 ; 
xvii. 31 ; Rom. ii. 16 ; xiv. 10 ; 2 Cor. v. 10 ; 2 Tim. iv. 1 ; 
Rev. i. 7 ; xxii. 12. 

6. He possesses the attributes and perfections of God, for 

(1) He is said to be eternal, Mic. v. 2, Cf. with Matt. ii. 6 ; 
John i. 2 ; viii. 56, 58 ; xvii. 5, 24 ; Acts iii. 15 ; Heb. i. 11, 
12; Rev. i. 17; xxii. 13; (2) Omnipresent, Matt, xviii. 20; 
xxviii. 20 ; John iii. 13 ; Eph. i. 23 ; (3) Omniscient, Matt. ix. 
4 ; xii. 25 ; Mark ii. 8 ; Luke vi. 8 ; ix. 47 ; x. 22 ; John i. 48 ; 
n. 24, 25; xvi. 30; xxi. 17; Rev. ii. 23; (4) Omnipotent, 
Matt, xxviii. 18 ; John v. 17 ; x. 18 ; 1 Cor. i. 24 ; Col. i. 17 ; 
ii. 10; Heb. vii. 25 ; Rev. i. 8 ; (5) Unchangeable, Heb. i. 
11, 12 ; vii. 24 ; xiii. 8 ; (6) Infinitely wise and loving, 1 Cor. 
i. 24 ; Col. ii. 3 ; Eph. iii. 19 ; (7) Sinless, Mark x. 18 ; John 
viii. 29, 46 ; xiv. 30 ; Heb. vii. 36 ; 1 Pet. ii. 22 ; 1 John iii. 5. 

7. He claimed and received divine worship. Cf. Ex. xx. 3 ; 

Matt. iv. 10; Acts xiv. 14; Rev. xix. 10, with Matt. ii. 2, 
11 ; ix. 18 ; xiv. 33 ; xv. 25 ; xx. 20; xxviii. 9 ; Luke xxiv. 
52 ; John ix. 38 ; xx. 28 ; Acts vii. 59 ; Phil. ii. 10 ; Heb. i. 
6 ; Rev. v. 9-14 ; 2 Cor. xiii. 14 ; Rom. i. 7, and the begin- 
ning of all the epistles. 

If such a being is not God, there is no God ; but 
blessed be His name forever and ever, the believer is 



BIBLE READINGS. 6/ 

hanging his interests for time and for eternity upon 
the arm of One who is Almighty, and who by Him- 
self purged our sins. Love can not stoop lower than 
when He descended to the cross ; love can not rise 
higher than when it lifts us to His throne. 

J. H. b., in "The Truth" 



XL 



SEVEN GRAND FACTS ABOUT THE 
BLOOD. 

I. It makes atonement for the soul. Lev. 
xvii. ii. 

Let us specially note that God, blessed be His 
holy name, has graciously given us the blood of His 
own beloved Son to make an atonement for our 
guilty souls, so that, instead of our sins being before 
Him, He has that precious blood which has put them 
all away forever. " Hallelujah ! " 

II. It forms the basis of the proclamation 

OF THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD TO THE WORLD, 
AND OF ITS APPLICATION TO THE BELIEVER. Rom. 
iii. 24-26. 

How precious is this for the poor guilty, sin-bur- 



68 BIBLE READINGS. 

dened soul ! God can righteously forgive us all our 
sins, and count us perfectly righteous, if we simply 
believe in Jesus. Such is the efficacy of the blood 
of Christ ! Such is the virtue of His peerless name ! 
May we not again exclaim, " Hallelujah ! " 

III. It is the meritorious ground of our 
justification. Rom. v. 8, 9. 

IV. Through it we have redemption. Eph. 
i. 5-7 ; Col. i. 14. 

V. By it we have a perfectly purged con- 
science. Heb. ix. 13, 14. 

What a priceless treasure is here ! The guilty, 
agonized conscience perfectly purged, divinely tran- 
quilized ! 

VI. By it we have access into the holiest 
OF ALL. " Having therefore, brethren, boldness to 
enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus." 

We come into the presence of God in all the effi- 
cacy and value of the blood of His own Son ; and 
He welcomes us as He welcomes the One in whose 
name we come. 

VII. By it we are cleansed to walk in the 
light as God is in the light, i John i. 7. 

The light of the Divine presence makes manifest 
that there is not a speck or a stain of sin upon the 



BIBLE READINGS. 6g 

person of the believer. The blood of Jesus makes us 
as clean as the throne of God can demand. 

Reader, what say you to these seven grand facts 
about the blood ? Do you know them for the peace 
and blessing, rest and comfort of your own soul ? 

C. H. M., in " Things Old and New" 



XII. 
THE PRECIOUSNESS OF OUR LORD. 

THE LORD JESUS IS PRECIOUS TO HIS PEOPLE. 

i. In what He Is: (i). The God-man mediator, John L 
1-4 ; 2 Tim. ii. 5. 

(2). The sinless one, Heb. iv. 15. 

(3). "Mighty to save/' Is. lxiii. 1 ; Heb. vii. 25. 

2. In what He Does for them : (1). Enlightens them sav- 

ingly, John iii. 2. 

(2). Atones for their sins, Is. liii. 4-6 ; Matt. xx. 28. 

(3). Intercedes for them, Rom. viii. 34. 

(4). Rules over all things for their good, Matt, xxviii. 18. 

3. In what He Promises them : (1). Comfort in trials, Is. 

xli. 9, 10; xliii. 1-3. 

(2). Cleansing, John xv. 2 ; Is. i. 18. 

(3). Victory over self, sin, the world and Satan, Rev. xi. 
12 ; 1 John ii. 14 ; 1 John v. 14. 

(4). An inheritance in heaven, Rom. viii. 17 ; 1 Pet. i. 4. 



7o 



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Application : (i). Is the Lord Jesus precious to you ? i Pet. 
ii. 7. 

(2). How do you know it? 1 John iv. 19 ; 2 Cor. v. 14. 
(3). How do you show it? John xiv. 21, 23. 



SAMUEL HART. 



XIII. 

CHRIST IN FIRST CORINTHIANS. 

This is the only chapter- in all of St. Paul's epistles 
which does not directly mention the Lord Jesus in 
one or more of His names and titles. But this is 
really no exception to the rule, for he here draws a 
portrait of his Master, so exquisite in coloring and 
so lovely in its lineaments, no one can fail to recog- 
nize the striking likeness even without the name at- 
tached. It is a beautiful picture of love which is 
here set over against the tongues of men and of an- 
gels, prophecy, mysteries, knowledge, faith, the gift of 
goods, and the surrender of the body to be burned, 
as superior to them all. But our Saviour combined 
both classes and descriptions of excellencies, and 'uni- 
ted them in a wonderful way in His single person. 



BIBLE READINGS. 



7* 



1. He spoke with more than the tongues of men and 
OF angels. " The Lord God hath given me the tongue of 
the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in sea- 
son to him that is weary," Is. 1. 4 ; Matt. vii. 28, 29 ; Matt, 
xiii. 54 ; Luke iv. 22 ; John vii. 15, 46. 

2. He had the gift of prophecy. " Take ye heed ; be- 
hold, I have foretold you all things/' Mark x. 33, 34 f xiii. 
23 ; Matt. xxiv. 25 ; Luke xxi. 24. 

3. He understood all mysteries and knowledge. " In 
whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,' ' 
Col. ii. 3 ; 1 Cor. ii. 6-8. 

4. He had all faith. " Looking unto Jesus, the author and 
finisher of faith," Heb. xii. 2 ; Gal. ii. 16 ; John xviii. 11. 

5. He bestowed all His goods to feed the poor. 
2 Cor. viii. 9 ; Matt. xiii. 44-46 ; Luke ix. 58. 

6. He gave His body to be burned. Ex. xii. 8 ; Lev. i. 9 ; 
Phil. ii. 8. 

7. He suffered LONG. Luke ix 54, 55 ; John xiii. 1 ; Matt, 
xvii. 17. 

8. He was kind. Matt. xi. 28 ; ix. 36 ; Luke xxiii. 43. 

9. He envied not. John xvii. 22, 23 ; Luke ix. 49, 50. 

10. He vaunted not Himself. Phil. ii. 7 ; John v. 31. 

11. He was not puffed up. Matt. xi. 29; John v. 41; 
viii. 54. 

12. He did not behave Himself unseemly. Mark vii. 
37 ; John viii. 29, 46 ; xiv. 30. 

13. He sought not His own. John v. 30; Rom. xv. 3. 

14. He was not easily provoked, i Pet. ii. 23 ; Matt 
xxvi. 52. 

15. He thought, or as the word ought to be ren- 
dered, imputed, no evil. 2 Cor. v. 19; John iii. 17. 

16. He rejoiced not in iniquity. Mark iii. 5 ; John ii. 

15-17. 

17. He rejoiced in the truth. Luke x. 21 ; John xiv. 6. 



72 BIBLE READINGS. 

18. He bore all things. Matt. viii. 17 ; Heb. xii. 2. 

19. He believed all things. Luke xvii. 4, 5 ; Matt, xviii. 22. 

20. He hoped all things. John xii. 32 ; Ps. xxii. 9. 

21. He endured all things. Luke xxiii. 34; Matt. xxvi. 42. 

22. He never fails. Heb. xiii. 5, 6; Rev. i. 17, 18. 

u Hallelujah ! what a Saviour." 

J. H. b., in "The Truth.'* 



XIV. 

THE SECOND COMING OF THE LORD 
JESUS. 

MATTHEW XXIV. 44. 

The first coming of our Lord was the opening of 
His actual work of redemption, as His second coming 
will disclose its final consummation. 

I. What is needful in order to be ready for His 
second coming. 

1. Knowledge that He is to come: (i). Himself announces 
it, Matt. xxiv. 30, 31. 

(2). Two men at His ascension declare it, Acts i. 10, 11. 

(3). Paul teaches it, 2 Thess. i. 7-10. 

(4). The belief that He is to come. If not believed, no 
preparation will be sought, Matt. xxiv. 48-51. 

(5). An earnest longing for it, Phil. hi. 20; 2 Pet. iii. 14. 



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73 



For what purposes is He to come? (i). To root out 
of His kingdom all things that offend, Matt. xiii. 37-43. 

(2). To lift the curse off the earth and to restore it to 
pristine beauty and fruitfulness, Is. lxv. 17-25 ; Rom. viii. 
19-23 ; 2 Pet. iii. 13 ; Rev. xxi. 5. 

(3). To raise the dead saints, 1 Cor. xv. 23 ; 1 Thess. iv. 
16; Rev. xx. 4-6. fc 

(4). To change the living saints from mortal to immortal, 
1 Cor. xv. 51-53. 

(5). To perfect His millennial reign (see Is. ii. 2-5 ; Rev. 
xx. 4-6). O Happy Day ! O Golden Age ! When shall thy 
bright dawn flash in glory on our sin-ruined world ! 

SAMUEL HART. 



XV. 

THINGS WORTH KNOWING. 

OxfR state by nature. Rom. vii. 18. 

The purpose for which Christ was manifested, 1 John 
iii. 5. Christ Himself, John vi. 6, 9 (the words are sure, 
should have been rendered, know), John x. 14 ; 2 Tim. i. 12. 

The Holy Spirit, John xiv. 17. 

God the Father, John xvii. 3 ; 1 John ii. 13. 

The grace of Christ, 2 Cor. viii. 9. 

The love of Christ, Eph. iii. 19. 

Christ risen, John xxi. 12 ; Rom. vi. 9 ; 2 Cor. iv. 14. 

The way of Justification, Gal. ii. 16. 

That we have passed from death unto life, 1 John iii. 14. 

That our old man was crucified with Christ, Rom. vi. 6. 
4 



74 



BIBLE READINGS. 

Our election of God, i Thess. i. 4. 

That we have eternal life, 1 John v. 13. 

The mysteries of Christ's kingdom and providence, Matt, 
xiii. 1 1 ; John xiii. 7. 

That tribulation leads to patience and experience and 
hope, Rom. v. 3. 

That all things work together for our good, Rom. viii. 28. 

That if death comes we have a house in heaven, 2 Cor. 
v. 1, 8. 

That resurrection awaits us, John xi. 24. 

That in the last days perilous times shall come, 2 Tim. 
iii. 1. 

That the day of the Lord cometh as a thief in the night, 
1 Thess. v. 2. 

That Christ our life shall appear, 1 John iii. 2. 

That in heaven we have a better substance than on earth, 

Heb. x. 34. 

J. H. B., in "The Truth:* 



XVI. 

THE SPIRIT AND CHARACTER OF CHRISTIAN 
WORKERS. 

1. They are sons — sons of God, Luke ii. 49 ; Gal. iv. 67 ; 1 John 

iii. 1-3; iv. 17. 

2. They labor "in the Lord/' Rom. xvi. 3, 9, 12 ; 1 Cor. xv. 58 ; 

Eph. ii. 10 ; 2 Tim. ii. 1-3 ; and in a priestly way, Heb. xiii, 
10 ; Acts xiii. 2 ; Rom. xii. 1 ; 1 Pet. ii. 9. 



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75 



3. They are great in humble, childlike service, Matt. xx. 25-28 ; 
xxiii. 8-12; Phil. ii. i-n ; Mark ix. 33-37; Luke ix. 48; 
x. 21, 22 ; xxii. 24-30; John xiii. 12-17. 

4. They know God is, however, more glorified in their salvation 
than in their greatest service, Luke x. 17-20. 

5. They confess all results are due to God, who owns the labor- 
ers and their work, and is sovereign in all, Luke xvii. 10 ; 
Matt. xx. 1-16 ; 1 Cor. iii. 5-9 ; xv. 10 ; 2 Cor. iv. 7. 

6. They know personal love to the Lord, and the desire to be 
with Him is more pleasant to Him than giving alms to the 
poor or edifying saints, Mark xiv. 6-9 ; Phil. i. 21-26 ; John 
xiv. 1-3; xvii. 24; Rev. xxii. 20, 21. 

7. They are watchful and ever at work until the Lord comes, 
Matt. xxiv. 43-51 ; Mark xiii. 33-37 ; 2 Tim. iv. 1, 2. 

8. Until He comes they remember they are doing His work ; and 
keep in mind the spirit and mission of the gospel, John 
xvii. 15-19; Luke iv. 18, 19; ix. 54-56; xix. 10; xv. 1-32; 
Gal. vi. 2, 10 ; 1 Pet. ii. 21-23 ; iv. 14 ; Matt. v. 13-16 ; Luke 
xiv. 34, 35- 

9. They seek no reward from men, and claim no merit or ground 
of authority or power in themselves, Acts iii. 1 2 ; John v. 
44 ;• vii. 18 ; xvi. 30 ; 1 Pet. v. 1-4. 

10. They rejoice in each other's gifts, 1 Cor. iii. 21-23. 

11. They have forsaken all, and trust God for all, Luke v. 1 1 ; 
viii. 3 ; Matt. vi. 33 ; Luke x. 7 ; 1 Tim. v. 18 ; 1 Cor. ix. 1 1. 

12. They go about their work at once and say little about them- 

selves. (See the words " forthwith," " immediately," 
"straightway" in Mark, and the few parables in that gos- 
pel of the servant, and the abrupt opening of this gospel.) 

The equipment of the Christian worker: (i). The power 
of the Holy Spirit, Luke i. 16 ; iii. 21-23 ; xxiv. 49 ; Acts i. 
8 ; x. 38 ; Eph. iii. 20 ; 1 Cor. ii. 4, 5 ; 2 Cor. vi. 7 ; xiii. 4 ; 
Col. i. 29 ; 1 Thess. i. 5 ; 2 Tim. i. 7, 8. 



76 BIBLE READINGS. 

(2). The knowledge of the Word, Col. iii. 16 ; John xiv. 
26; xvi. 8-13; Luke xxiv. 44-48; Acts ii. 16; iii. 18; viii. 
35; ix. 20; xiii. 5, 15; xvii. 2, 3; xviii. 24-28; 1 Tim. iv. 
13-16 ; 2 Tim. ii. 2-15 ; iii. 14-17. The knowledge of The 
Word, Acts iv. 13 ; 1 John i. 1-3. 

(3). The spirit of prayer, Matt, xviii. 19, 20; Acts vi. 4. 
In order to much fruit, John xv. 7, 8 ; for difficult work 
and cases, Matt. xvii. 21 ; for momentous decisions, "all 
night," Luke vi. 12, 13 ; for increase of the number of labor- 
ers, Matt. ix. 36-38 ; x. 1 ; Luke x. 2 ; for enemies, v. 44 ; 
after a day of hard work, xiv. 23 ; for the endurance of great 
trials, xxvi. 36 ; for overcoming temptation, xxvi. 41 ; for the 
beginning of work in new places (early and solitary prayer), 
Mark i. 35-39 ; for watchful conduct, xiii. 33 ; for greater 
power in service, Luke v. 16, 17 ; Eph. v. 18 ; Phil. i. 19; 
2 Thess. iii. 1,2; for confession of faith from others, Luke 
ix. 18-20; for the confession and acceptance of coming 
trials, ix. 22-25 ; Matt. xvi. 21-26 ; for the way to pray and 
for what, Luke xi. 1 ; Rom. viii. 26 ; for endurance of faith 
and of hope, xviii. 1-8 ; for choosing fellow-laborers, Acts i. 
24 ; for laborers in any church work, vi. 6 ; xiv. 23 ; for the 
manifestation of the Spirit in others, viii. 15; for imperiled 
fellow-laborers, xii. 12 ; for laborers sent to new fields, xiii. 3; 
for joy in tribulation, xvi. 25 ; for laborers no more to be 
with us, xx. 36 ; xxi. 6 ; for any service at any time, xxviii. 8 ; 
for a special gift, 1 Cor. iv. 13 ; for all saints, vi. 18 ; for 
more power and boldness in laborers of great usefulness, 
Eph. vi. 19, 20 ; Col. iv. 3 ; for saints saved through your 
testimony, Eph. i. 16; iii. 14; Phil. i. 34; Col. i. 3 ; 1 Thess. 
i. 2. 

(4). Faith for services and for results, Matt. xvii. 19, 20 ; 
xxi. 21 ; Mark xi. 22 ; Acts vi. 5-8 ; xi. 24 ; Rom. xii. 3-6 ; 
1 Cor. xii. 9 ; xiii. 2. 



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77 



Zeal without pretension: 

(5). Use the gift you have to the utmost ; pretend to none 
you do not have, Rom. xii. 3-8 ; 1 Pet. iv. 10, 11 ; 2 Tim. i. 
7, 8 ; Luke xix. 20-27 ; Matt. xxv. 24-30. 

Love: 

(6). All gifts as nothing without love, 1 Cor. i. 3 ; 2 Cor. 
v. 13-21 ; vi. 1-13. 

(7). The yoke of Christ, Matt. xi. 28-30. 
Meekness and lowliness. B. F. J. 



XVII. 

THE INCENTIVES TO CHRISTIAN WORK. 

The great incentives to gospel work are the facts 
that man is lost, and that in Christ only is salvation. 
These two underlie and enter into all other incen- 
tives. 

The Salvation of Men. God would not have them perish, 
John iii. 16 ; Ezek. xviii. 32 ; xxxiii. 11. 

How shall they hear without a preacher ? Rom. x. 12-17. 
Paul could not rest while men were perishing, 1 Cor. ix. 
19-22. 
God would have all men saved, 1 Tim. ii. 4 ; 2 Pet. iii. 9. 

Christ's Constraining Love. 2 Cor. v. 14, 15. 

Abiding- in Christ's love and obeying His commands, are 
inseparable, John xv. 9-14. 



78 BIBLE READINGS. 

" As we have received mercy, we faint not," 2 Cor. iv. I. 
Christ's love lives in our love for the lost, Gal. ii. 20. 
We give ourselves as He hath given Himself, Eph. v. 2 ; 
2 John iii. 16. 
We love, because He first loved us, 1 John iv. 7-16, 19. 

The Requirement to be Faithful. He who is unfaithful 
is guilty of the blood of souls, Acts xx. 26, 27. 

Faithfulness is required in stewards, 1 Cor. iv. 1-5. 

The ministry is to be fulfilled, Col. iv. 17. 

Every man is to minister as he has received the gift, 

1 Pet. iv. 10. 

Pleasing the Lord. Making the Father glad, Luke xv. 7, 10, 
22-24. 

Being wrought for resurrection, we labor to be acceptable, 

2 Cor. v. 5-9. 

Christ's servant seeks to please Him, not men, Gal. i. to ; 
1 Thess. ii. 4 ; Rom. xv. 1-3 ; 1 Cor. x. 33. 

We are to wilk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, 
Col. i. 10. 

A soldier must please him who hath chosen him, 2 Tim. 

ii. 4. 

A workman must be approved, 2 Tim. ii. 15. 

The Honor of being Associated with Christ. Christ 
and His messengers are one, John xiii. 20. 

As friends, they know His plans, John xv. 15. 

They are treated as He was, John xv. 20 ; Matt. x. 25. 

They are sent as He was, John xvii. 18, 21. 

He and the Spirit work in them, Rom. xv. 17-19 ; 1 Cor. 
ii. 4-13. 

They are ambassadors for Him, 2 Cor. v. 20. 

They are encouraged by the joy set before them, even as 
He was, Heb. xii. 2-4. 



BIBLE READINGS. 



79 



The Pressing Work and Little Time. The harvest is 
plenteous, and the laborers are few, Matt. ix. 37. 

All nations are to be taught, Matt, xxviii. 19. 

The gospel is to be preached to every creature, Mark 
xvi. 15. 

The fields are white to harvest, John iv. 35-38. 

The night cometh, when no man can work, John ix. 4 ; 
xi. 9, 10. 

It is high time to awake out of sleep, Rom. xiii. 1 1-14 ; 
1 Pet. iv. 7. 

The time is short, 1 Cor. vii. 29-31. 

The Success Promised, Nothing is impossible, even to little 
faith, Matt. xvii. 20, 21 ; xxi. 21, 22. 

From henceforth thou shalt catch men, Luke v. 6-10; 
John xxi. 3-1 1. 

Christ in the believer's work is greater than in His own, 
John xiv. 12, 13. 

The weakness of God is stronger than men, 1 Cor. i. 
17-28. 

Labor is not in vain in the Lord, 1 Cor. xv. 58. 

We shall reap if we faint not, Gal. vi. 9. 

Even adversities shall further the gospel, Phil. i. 12. 

We may save those that hear us, 1 Tim. iv. 16. 

"He shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing 
his sheaves with him," Ps. cxxvi. 6. 

The Certain and Proportionate Reward. The least 
service shall in no wise lose its reward, Matt. x. 40-42 ; 
xvi. 27. 

It shall be to every man according as his work shall be, 
1 Cor. iii. 8-14 ; Rev. xxii. 12. 

Every one serving shall have praise of God, 1 Cor. iv. 5. 

Star differs from star in glory, 1 Cor. xv. 41. 

Our works follow us, Rev. xiv. 1 3. 






80 BIBLE READINGS. 

Various Warnings. A " servant " who does not serve is 
classed with hypocrites, Matt. xxiv. 48-51 ; xxv. 24-30. 

And with unbelievers, Luke xii. 46. 

The greater the knowledge, the greater the responsibility, ' 
Luke xii. 47, 48. 

The elder son is rebuked, Luke xv. 25-32. 

Judging another and doing the same things, is inexcusable, 
Rom. ii. 1-16. 

The name of God is blasphemed through those who, 
teaching others, do not teach themselves, Rom. ii. 17-24. 

Destroy not him for whom Christ died, Rom. xiv. 10-23. 

An open door — let no man take thy crown, Rev. iii. 8-1 1 ; 
2 John 8. 

Present Blessings in Service. God's care and supply de- 
liver from fear of want, Matt. vi. 25-34. 

God's care and protection deliver from fear of man, Matt. 
x. 25-31. 

Wisdom is given by the Spirit in time of need, Matt. x. 
18-20; James i. 5. 

The companionship of Jesus, Matt, xxviii. 20 ; Mark 
xvi. 20. 

Loss for the gospel's sake is a hundredfold rewarded, Mark 
x. 29, 30. 

We are enriched in utterance, 1 Cor. i. 5. 

We have deliverance in trouble, 2 Cor. i. 7-1 1 ; 2 Tim. iv. 
17, 18. 

Future Blessings on Account of Service. Shining in 
heaven, Dan. xii. 3. 
Greatness in heaven, Matt. v. 19. 
Treasures in heaven, Matt. vi. 19, 20. 
Confessed in heaven, Matt. x. 32. 
Reward at His coming, Matt. xvi. 27. 



BIBLE READINGS. 8 1 

Ruling with Christ, Matt. xxiv. 45-47 ; xxv. 21, 23 ; 2 Tim. 
ii. 11, 12. 

Honor from the Father, John xii. 26. 
An incorruptible crown, 1 Cor. ix. 25. 
A crown of rejoicing, 1 Thess. ii. 19, 20. 
A crown of righteousness, 2 Tim. iv. 5-8. 
An unfading crown of glory, 1 Pet. v. 4. 

Reverence and Godly Fear. The judgment-seat of Christ, 
2 Cor. v. 10, 11 ; 2 Tim. iv. 1. 

Our God is a consuming fire, Heb. xii. 28, 29. 

Seeing all these things shall be dissolved, what manner 
of workers ought we to be ?* 2 Pet. iii. 10-15. 






XVIII. 
CHRISTIAN LIVING. 

Take Romans xii. 9-21 as a basis. The Christian's 
direct relations and duties to God are here presumed. 
Certain principles, habits, and duties toward men are 
set forth. 

1. Living in Love to the Christian brotherhood, 
verses 9-10. Four qualities of this love: (i). Sin- 
cere, "without dissimulation ;" not hypocritical, as that of 
Joab, 2 Sam. xx. 9, 10 ; and of Judas, Matt. xxvi. 48-50 ; 
Ps. Iv. 12, 13, 21. But " unfeigned love," 1 Pet. i. 22 ; 2 Cor. 



* From M Gospel Work," a Scripture Text-book, compiled by C. M. Whittlesey 
and E. P. Gardner. American Tract Society, New York. 

4* 



82 BIBLE READINGS. 

vi. 6. " Charity out of a pure heart," i Tim. i. 5 ; 1 John iv. 
20, 21 ; 1 Thess. iii. 12, 13. 

(2). Discriminative. Abhors evil ; not those who, but that 
which, verse 9. Cleaves to good persons and principles, 
Amos v. 14, 15 ; Is. v. 20 ; Ps. xxxiv. 12-14 \ 1 Thess. v. 21 ; 
Phil. iv. 8. 

(3). Brotherly, verse 10. Kind (from kin) as if akin to 
one another ; in God's family. Christ's love in the heart 
makes true kinship. So David and Jonathan, 2 Sam. i. 26 ; 
Peter and Paul, 2 Pet. iii. 15 ; Heb. xiii. 1. 

(4). Unselfish, considerate, concessive, yielding privilege 
and honor to another, verse 10. In Matt, xxiii. contrast 
verses 5-7 with 10-12 ; 1 Cor. x. 24 ; Rom. xv. 1, 2 ; Phil. ii. 30. 

2. Living in the exercise of spiritual graces and in good 

works, verses 1 1-14, contain ten weighty phrases. " Not 
slothful in zeal, fervent in spirit, acting as servants of the 
Lord," Col. iv. 12, 13 ; joyful hope and patience, Rom. v. 
3-5 ; constant prayer, Eph. vi. 18 ; relieving want, Acts ix. 
36, 39 ; xi. 27-30 ; xx. 3$ ; 1 Cor. ix. 1-8 ; hospitality, John 
1-8 ; Heb. xiii. 2 ; all good works, Eph. ii. 10 ; Titus ii. 14 ; 
iii. 8, 14 ; bless and curse not, verse 14 ; Matt. v. 44. 

3. Living in mutual sympathies ; self-conceit excludes them, verses 

15-16. In verse 15, a community of joys and griefs, 2 Cor. 
i. 3 ; vii. 13. In verse 16, the true Christian level. "The 
same mind," 1 Cor. i. 10 ; Phil. ii. 2-6 ; iv. 2 ; iii. 15, 16 ; 
u not high-minded," I Tim. v. 17 ; 2 Tim. iii. 4, 5 ; Ps. cxxxi. 
1 ; James ii. 1-5 ; condescending, 1 Cor. ix. 19-23 ; estimate 
of self, Prov. iii. 7 ; xxvi. 12 ; 2 Cor. x. 12 ; Rom. xii. 3 ; 
Gal. vi. 3. 

4. Living before the world, even foes, so as to ex- 

emplify Christian Character, verses 17-21. Prin- 
ciples to be manifested : (1). Forbearance, not retaliating, 
verses 17, 19 ; Prov. xx. 22 ; 1 Pet. iii. 8-9 ; 1 Cor. xiii. 4-7. 



BIBLE READINGS. 



83 



(2). Honesty and honor, verse 17 with 2 Cor. viii. 21. 
These are commended by three miracles : The cruse of oil, 
2 Kings iv. 1-7 ; the borrowed axe, 2 Kings vi. 5-7 ; the tax 
loyally paid, Matt. xvii. 24-27 ; provident honesty before un- 
believers, 1 Thess. iv. 11, 12 ; 1 Pet. ii. 2 ; 1 Tim. v. 8. 

(3). Peace, verse 18. Often the responsibility "lieth in 
you. ,, It is not to be left to mere convenience, but all 
possible efforts should be made for it. How ? 

By a non-resistance which does not imperil truth, mor- 
ality, just law, or rights that can not be sinlessly surrendered. 
"Give wrath room, ,, verse 19 ; Gen. xxvi. 19-22 ; and time 
to cool, Eph. iv. 26 ; by submitting, or appealing to just 
law, Rom. xiii. 1-4; 1 Pet. ii. 13-15 ; by confiding in the 
Lord's justice, verse 19 ; Deut. xxxii. 35 ; Heb. x. 30 ; Ps. 
xxxvii. 7-9 ; by refraining from provocations, Jas. iii. 2, 5 ; 
iv. 11; Eph. vi. 4 ; Prov. xv. 1 ; by avoiding censoriousness, 
Matt. vii. 1-3; Rom. xiv. 10, 15, 19; by subduing evil in 
self, Jas. iv. 1, 2 ; Gal. v. 23, 24 ; Eph. iv. 31 ; Prov. xvi. 32; 
by kindness to foes, verse 20 ; Prov. xxi. 14 ; Gen. xxxii. 
1 3-20 with xxxiii. 4-5 ; by overcoming evil in others with 
goodness in yourself, verse 2 1 ; Luke xv. 28-32 ; by seeking 
reconciliation, Matt. v. 23, 24 ; xviii. 15-17 ; by imitating the 
great example, I Pet. ii. 21-23. 

Summaries, 2 Pet. i. 5-8 ; Eph. iv. 22-32 ; Gal. v. 22-26. 

PROF. W. M. BLACKBURN, D.D. 



XIX. 

PERSON AND WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 

I. The personality of the Holy Spirit as revealed (a) in the Old 
Testament, Gen. i. 2 ; Ps. xxxiii. 6 ; civ. 30 ; Job xxvi. 13 ; 



84 BIBLE READINGS. 

Isa. xxxii. 14, 15 ; Ezek. xxxvii. 9 ; {B) in the New Testa- 
ment, Matt. iii. 16 ; xxviii. 19 ; Mark i. 10 ; Luke iii. 22 ; 
John i. 33 ; 1 Cor. xiii. 14 ; Eph. iv. 30. 
2. Character and work of the Holy Spirit, John xiv. 16-26 ; xvi. 
6, 7 ; Rom. viii. 26 ; xv. 30 ; Acts xiii. 2. Agent (a) of 
Christ's birth, Matt. i. 18, 20; Luke i. 35; John iii. 6; 
1 John v. 6, 8. (b) Agent of the resurrection of Christ and 
of believers, Rom. i. 4 ; viii. 11 ; 1 Pet. iii. 18. 

From whom the Spirit proceeds, John xv. 26 ; xvi. 7-14. 

Dwelling of the Spirit in Christ, Luke iv. 1, 14 ; John iii. 
34 ; Col. ii. 9. 

Regeneration by the Spirit, John iii. 3, 5 ; iv. 10, 14 ; vi. 
63 ; Titus iii. 5, 7. 

Dwelling of the Spirit in believers, 1 Cor. ii. 9-16 ; vi. 17 ; 
xii. 13 ; Gal. iii. 9 ; iv. 6 ; v. 25 ; Eph. ii. 22 ; iii. 16 ; v. 
1-18 ; 1 Pet. i. 11 ; 1 John iii. 24. 

The Spirit given to the Disciples, Acts ii. 1-4 ; vi. 3. 

The Spirit to be received by faith, John vii. 37-39 ; Luke 
xi. 13 ; Gal. iii. 2 ; Eph. i. 13, 14. 

Sanctification by the Spirit, Rom. viii. 6 ; 1 Cor. vi. 11; 
Gal. v. 22-26 ; 2 Thess. ii. 3 ; 1 Pet. i. 2. 

The Spirit dwelling in the Church, Rom. viii. 9-1 1 ; 1 Cor. 
iii. 16, 17 ; vi. 13-19 ; 2 Cor. vi. 14-16 ; Eph. i. 22, 23 ; iii. 
19 ; iv. 12-16 ; Col. i. 18, 24 ; 1 Tim. iii. 15 ; Heb. iii. 6. 

Prophesied in the Old Testament as a gospel blessing, Isa. 
xxxii. 15 ; xliv. 3 ; Ezek. xxxvi. 27* 

When the dispensation of the Spirit began and when it 
will end, Matt. iii. 11 ; John vii. 39 ; xiv. 16 ; xv. 26 ; xvi. 7 ; 
xx. 22 ; Acts i. 8 ; ii. 1-4 ; iii. 21 ; 2 Thess. ii. 7 ; Rev. iv. 5. 

Names and Titles of the Spirit : 

Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, Ps. xli. 11 ; Isa. lxiii. 11 ; 
Matt, xxviii. 19 ; Mark iii. 29 ; Luke xi. 13. Spirit of God, 
Gen. i. 2 ; Ex. xxxi. 3 ; Num. xxiv. 2 ; 1 Sam. x. 10 ; 2 Chron. 



BIBLE READINGS. 85 

xv. 1 ; Matt. iii. 16 ; 1 John iv. 2. My Spirit, Gen. vi. 3 ; 
Prov. i. 23 ; Isa. xxx. 1 ; Zech. iv. 6 ; Matt. xii. 28. Spirit 
of the Lord, Num. xi. 29 ; Jud. xi. 34 ; 2 Chron. xx. 14 ; 
Acts v. 9. Spirit of Christ, Rom. viii. 9 ; 1 Pet. i. 11. The 
Comforter, John xiv. 16 ; xvi. 7. Spirit of Truth, John xiv. 
17 ; xvi. 13. Spirit of Holiness, Rom. i. 4. Spirit of Grace, 
Zech. xii. 10 ; Heb. x. 29. Spirit of Wisdom, Might, Counsel, 
Isa. xi. 2. Spirit of Promise, Eph. i. 13. Spirit of Glory, 
1 Pet. iv. 14. Good Spirit, Neh. ix. 20 ; Ps. cxliii. 10. 

H. W. BROWN. 



XX. 

THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT. 
Galatians v. 22, 23. 

1. FAITH, Abraham. Gal. iii. 7-9. 

2. Patience, Job. James v. II. 

3. Meekness, Moses. Num. xii. 3. 

4. Decision, Joshua. Josh. xxiv. 15. 

5. Patriotism, Nehemiah. Neh. i. 4 ; v. 14. 

6. Friendship, Jonathan. 1 Sam. xix. 2-4, etc. 

Arranged by JOSEPH ANGUS, D.D. 



XXI. 

THE WORKS OF THE FLESH. 
Galatians v, 19-21. 

1. SCOFFING infidelity in the antediluvians. Jude 14, 15. 

2. Envy in Joseph's brethren, in Cain. Gen. iv. 5 ; xxxvii. 11. 



86 BIBLE READINGS. 

3. Malice in Saul. 1 Sam. xviii. 28, 29. 

4. Slander in Doeg and Ziba. 1 Sam xxii. 9 ; 2 Sam. xvi. 1. 

5. Covetousness in Achan and Balaam, Gehazi, Judas. Josh. 

vi. 19, etc. 

6. Ambition, Abimelech, and in the sons of Zebedee. Jud. ix. 

1-5 ; Mark x. 35. 

Arranged by JOSEPH ANGUS, D.D. 



XXII. 

WALKING WITH GOD. 

Companionship in the Walk. Illustrations : Adam, Gen. iii. 
8 ; Enoch, Gen. v. 22-24 I Noah, Gen. vi. 9, must of neces- 
sity agree with each other, Amos iii. 3. 

Where they Walk. Not in the counsel of the ungodly, Ps. 
i. 1 ; not after the flesh, 2 Cor. x. 2 ; not according to the 
course of this world, Eph. ii. 2. They walk on earth, but 
always away from the world. Noah from the flood ; Abra- 
ham from Mesopotamia and Sodom ; Moses from the throne 
of Egypt, Heb. xi. 24-26 ; Israel from Egypt and through the 
wilderness, Ex. xiv. 29 ; Deut. ii. 7 ; Job through darkness, 
Job xxix. 3 ; David in the midst of trouble, Ps. cxxxviii. 7 ; 
Isaiah through fire and water, Isa. xliii. 2 ; Daniel in and out 
of the den, Dan. vi. 22 ; Peter on the water, Matt. xiv. 29 ; 
apostles in and out of prison, Acts iv., xvi. ; John on Patmos, 
Rev. i.-xxii. 

How they WALK. In the light, Ex. xiii. 21 ; Jno. viii. 12 ; 
in safety and on dry land, Ex. xiv. 22 ; Josh. iii. 17 ; at lib- 
erty, Ps. cxix. 45 ; Dan. iii. 25 ; humbly, Mic. vi. 8 ; in peace, 
Mai. ii. 6 ; by faith, 2 Cor. v. 7. 



BIBLE READINGS. 



87 



Who Walk. The redeemed, Isa. xxxv. 9 ; the lame, Matt. xi. 
5 ; the saved, Rev. xxi. 24. 

The End of the Walk. Through the valley, Ps. xxiii. 4 ; 
in white [washed], Rev. iii. 4 ; in the light of the city, Rev. 

Xxi>24 * B.F. J. 



SEVEN THINGS TO HOLD FAST. 

(1). That which is good, 1 Thess. v. 1. (2). The faithful word, 
Tit. i. 9. (3). The form of sound words, 2 Tim. i. 13. 
(4). The confidence and rejoicing of the hope, Heb. iii. 6. 
(5). The profession of our faith, Heb. x. 23. (6). That we 
have, that no man take our crown, Rev. iii. 11. (7). The 
unfaithful, hold fast and repent, Rev. iii. 3. 

B. F. J. 



XXIII. 
WHAT WE DO BY FAITH. 

We die, Rom. vi. 11. We fight, 1 Tim. vi. 12. 

We live, Gal. ii. 20. We overcome, 1 John v. 4. 

We stand, 2 Cor. i. 24. We sit with Him, Rev. iii. 21. 

We walk, 2 Cor. v. 7. 

B. F. J. 



XXIV. 
WHAT CHRIST IS FOR US. 

Christ is our acceptance : who can question it ? Eph. i. 6. 
Christ is our glory : who can cloud it ? 1 John xvii. 22. 



88 BIBLE READINGS. 

Christ is our hope: who can disappoint it ? Col. i. 27. Christ 
is our inheritance : who can alienate it ? Eph. i. 11. Christ 
is our joy : who can diminish it ? John xv. 11. Christ is our 
justification : who can dispute it ? Rom. iii. 24. Christ is 
our life : who can destroy it ? Col. iii. 4. Christ is our 
peace : who can disturb it ? John xvi. 33. Christ is our re- 
demption : who can touch it ? 1 Cor. i. 30. Christ is our 
righteousness : who can tarnish it ? 1 Cor. i. 30. Christ is 
pur sanctification : who can assail it ? 1 Cor. i. 30. Christ 
is our wisdom : who can baffle it ? 1 Cor. i. 30. " Christ is 
all :" who can deny it ? Col. iii. 11. 

B. F. J. 



XXV. 
THE MEASURE OF THE BELIEVER'S BLESSINGS. 

"NOT ACCORDING TO OUR works." We have been predes- 
tinated according to the good pleasure of His will, Eph. i. 5. 
Called according to His purpose, Rom. viii. 28. 
Saved according to His mercy, Titus iii. 5. 
Forgiven according to the riches of His grace, Eph. i. 7. 
We are blessed according as He hath chosen us, Eph. 

i. 3> 4. 

Strengthened according to His glorious power, Col. i. 11. 

Supplied according to His riches in glory, Phil. iv. 19. 

We shall be fashioned according to His glorious body, 
according to the working whereby He is able even to sub- 
due all things unto Himself, Phil. iii. 21. 

B. F. J. 



BIBLE READINGS. 89 



XXVI. 

PRAYER. 

1 Call upon Me in the day of trouble ; I will deliver/' Ps. 1. 15. 

" Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it," Ps. lxxxi. 10. 

" The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to 
all that call upon Him in truth," Ps. cxlv. 18. 

" Then thou shalt call, and the Lord shall answer ; thou 
shalt cry, and He shall say, ■ Here I am/ " Isa. lviii. 9. 

" I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me 
from all my fears," Ps. xxxiv. 4. 

" I love the Lord because He hath heard my voice and my 
supplications," Ps. cxvi. 1. 

"In the day when I cried, Thou answeredst me," Ps. 
cxxxviii. 3. 

" Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon 
Him while He is near," Isa. iv. 6. 

B. F. J. 



XXVII. 
THE RIGHT HAND OF THE LORD. 

Power in redemption, Ex. xv. 6. 

The Lord is at my right hand — comfort for the despond- 
ing, Ps. xvi. 8. 

Unbelief says, God hath forgotten ; faith says, I will re- 
member the past power of His right hand, Ps. Ixxii. 9, 10. 
His right hand upholdeth me from the enemy, Ps. lxiii. 8. 
His right hand doth embrace me with affection and love, 
giving security and rest, Cant. ii. 6 ; viii. 3. 

B. F. J. 



90 BIBLE READINGS. 

XXVIII. 

FAITH IN EXERCISE. 

LIVING, Gal. ii. 20 ; obeying, Rom. xvi. 26 ; walking, 2 Cor. v. 7 ; 
working, 1 Thess. i. 3 ; praying, Jas. v. 1 5 ; enduring, 1 Pet. 
i. 7 ; fighting, 1 Tim. vi. 12. 

B. F. J. 



XXIX. 
PASSAGES FOR INQUIRERS. 

1. I FEAR I shall never stand, and so dishonor Him — my cir- 

cumstances are peculiar, 2 Tim. i. 12; Jude 24; Heb. xiii. 5. 

2. I fear my sins are too great to be forgiven, 1 Pet. i. 18, 19; 

Ex. xii. 13 ; Isa. i. 18. 

3. My earthly prospects will be ruined — I shall be cast out, Phil. 

iv. 19 ; Matt. iv. 4 ; xix. 29. 

4. I do not feel my guilt as I should, I am waiting for conviction 

(Acts ii. 36, 38), Jer. xvii. 9 ; Prov. iii. 5 ; Matt. vii. 24 ; 
Zech. xii. 10. 

5. I do not see that I am such a great sinner, Isa. lxiv. 6 ; Rom. 

iii. 22, 23 ; 1 John i. 10. 

6. I have made up my mind to be a Christian, but am not quite 

ready, Prov. xxvii. 1 ; Matt. xxiv. 44 ; 1 Thess. v. 19 ; 2 Cor. 
vi. 2. 

7. I will be a Christian IF any reservation is fatal, Luke 

xiv. 33 ; Jas. iv. 4. 

8. I don't know where I am — almost distracted. Don't know 

whether I believe in anything — what shall I do ? John vii. 17 ; 
vi. 28, 29 ; Mark v. 36. 



BIBLE READINGS. 



91 



.9. I do not see how to come, Acts xiii. 39 ; Rom. x. 9 ; John iii. 
36 ; Luke xv. 

10. How can I know whether I am saved ? John v. 24 ; 1 John 
iii. 14, 24. 

11. How is it that Christ's death can avail for my sins ? 2 Cor. v. 
21 ; Gal. iii. 13 ; 1 Pet. ii. 24. 

12. How do I know that He calls me ; am I certainly invited? 
John vi. 37 ; x. 9 ; Rev. xxii. 17. 

13. How do you reconcile this, and that, in the Scriptures ? 

2 Cor. v. 20 ; 2 Pet. iii. 16 ; Matt. vi. 33. 

14. I once loved the Lord, but have wandered far, far from Him ! 
Is there any hope for such ? Jer. iii. 12 ; Hos. xiv. 4 ; Luke 
xxii. 32. 

15. Why is faith in Jesus alone enough, without any addition? 

Gal. ii. 20 ; 2 Cor. v. 7 ; Rom. xi. 20 ; 1 John v. 4. 

16. I have tried, and tried in vain, to prepare to come to Jesus, 

but am as far off as ever, Rom. x. 1-4. 

Arranged by RALPH WELLS. 



XXX. 

PASSING UNDER THE ROD. 

SUGGESTIONS FOR A BIBLE READING. 

WHEN bringing His ancient people back to their 
land, their allegiance, and to a holier life, the Lord 
said to them, " I will cause you to pass under the 
rod" (Ezek. xx. 37). Which was it, the rod of dis- 



g 2 BIBLE READINGS. 

cipline or the rod of distinction ? The first sense is 
usually employed. It appears in a beautiful poem 
in which the Christian is represented as enduring a 
series of bereavements, and at each the Lord is say- 
ing: " I love thee, I love thee, pass under the rod." 

This seems not to be the leading idea in Scripture. 
The rod here is that of the shepherd in his ordinary 
care of the flock. He used it especially in two ways : 
in numbering and in tithing. He stood at the nar- 
row gate, or the door, and so held it that the sheep 
could pass under it, one at a time, and thus he 
counted them. So, says Jeremiah (xxxiii. 13), " Shall 
the flocks pass again under the hands of him that 
telleth them." Or, having dipped the point of it in 
some color, he touched every tenth sheep with it, 
and thus tithed them. This may explain the law 
(Lev. xxvii. 32): "Concerning the tithe of the herd, 
or of the flock, even whatsoever passeth under the 
rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord." 

This process of tithing was figuratively or spirit- 
ually applied to the people. But the exact rule of 
choosing only a tenth was not retained, for all the 
? believers were counted as the Lord's spiritual flock. 
Here was a mercy. The Good Shepherd does not 
limit the number of His chosen ones to precisely 






BIBLE READINGS. 93 

one-tenth of a congregation or nation. The term 
"Whosoever will," has its application and force. 
His spiritual rod does not literally tithe, but it desig- 
nates, marks, distinguishes all who believe Him and 
obey His voice. It puts on them the sign of His 
ownership. 

This rod, then, is anything which designates and 
marks certain persons as the Lord's peculiar people, 
or as true Christians, and separates them from " the 
world." It may be something in providence, in grace, 
or in discipline. It may be a special favor, or an 
affliction. To pass under the rod is, with us, to do 
or receive something, or submit to something, which 
shows to the world that we are the Lord's people, 
and that His mark is upon us. The sincere confes- 
sion of Christ may secure it. 

On the days of the great Pentecost, such a confes- 
sion was " spotting a man." In worldly eyes it was 
a reproach, a brand, a distinguishing mark. Yet it 
was really an honor. It was the sign of a Christian. 
The prayer of Saul of Tarsus was a proof that he had 
passed under the rod of Christ. In the times of the 
early martyrs, suffering for Christ was a token of the 
Lord's ownership. Paul bore on his very body " the 
marks of the Lord Jesus." Passing under the rod is 



94 



BIBLE READINGS. 



similar to bearing the spiritual cross. All Christian 
acts of courage, integrity, faithfulness, endurance, for- 
bearance, forgiveness, charity, may put upon the doer 
or the sufferer the sign of distinction. They show 
that the Divine Shepherd touched him as he passed. 

The scriptural ordinances and sacrament have the 
same effect. Faithful compliance with them is a 
mark of the Christian. To the secular mind they 
seem to require humiliation, submission to churchly 
rules, and a surrender of the human will. But faith 
and obedience to Christ are means of the highest 
liberty. The truest freeman pays the most defer- 
ence to the constitution by which his freedom and 
his rights are secured. The truest, freest, happiest 
Christian is more loyal to his Lord. He will regard 
every duty as a privilege. The duty marks him ; the 
privilege honors him. 

Never were Christian ordinances observed with more 
freedom and delight, than when the early believers 
" continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and 
fellowship, and in the breaking of bread and in 
prayers." By their unity in faith, in social life, in 
property (so far as necessary for the time), in acts 
of worship, in charity, and in devotedness to their 
Master, the Lord's flock was readily distinguished 






BIBLE READINGS. 95 

from all other people. His rod touched them as 
they passed into His fold, or into the large pastures 
of His truth and grace. 

No other ordinance or sacrament — not even bap- 
tism — so fully impresses this distinction as the Lord's 
Supper. It is the confessing, separating, confirming 
sacrament. It most closely and clearly draws the line 
between avowed Christians and non-confessors of 
Christ. It involves, on our part, more than a duty, 
or a denial of self, or an act of allegiance to the Lord. 
It brings to us one of the highest privileges within 
the Church on earth. In it we read again " the last 
legacy of a departing Saviour. Even to our natural 
feelings it would be a sacred thing as the testaments 
of a dying man." But to a Christian it is the " holy 
of holies " among all ordinances. In it Christ touches 
his memory, his heart, his conscience, and his will. 
The divine mark is upon the sincere and worthy com- 
municant, and even the world recognizes it. The rod 
has left its sealing sign upon him, and he is " a living 
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God." 

To this brief outline may be added the fourfold 
knowledge of assurance, which results from passing 
under the rod. " Ye shall know that I am the Lord." 
" I know my sheep." 



g6 bible readings. 

The Jewish rulers " took knowledge of them (Peter 
and John) that they had been with Jesus." " I will 
accept you," and " ye have received the Spirit of 
adoption." Thus those who are touched know the 
Lord ; they are known by Him, by the world, and by 
themselves as the people who are brought " into the 
bond of the covenant." 

PROF. W. M. BLACKBURN, D.D. 



XXXI. 

WHOSOEVER— THOU ART THE MAN. 

In its great whosoever, the Gospel leaves no 
room for any of the human race to escape its con- 
demnation, and no reason for any of the human race 
to despair of its precious salvation. 

FIRST, CONDEMNATION. 

1. John viii. 34. 4. 1 John ii. 23. 

2. Rom. ii. 1. 5. 1 John iii. 4. 

3. Jas. ii. 10. 6. 1 John iii. 10. 

7. 2 John 9. 



BIBLE READINGS. 



SECOND, SALVATION. 



97 



1. John iii. 16. 4. Acts x. 43. 

2. John iv. 14. 5. Rom. x. 11. 

3. Luke xii. 8. 6. 1 John v. 1. 

7. Rev. xxii. 17. 

If in the mighty famine that threatens the millions 
of India with an appalling death, great storehouses 
were erected throughout the land filled with provis- 
ions for all, and if over the entrance into these store- 
houses were written in large letters, " Whosoever is 
starving or hungry is welcome here, and shall have 
his wants supplied/' no one of the famishing multi- 
tude would stay away because his name was not men- 
tioned. The invitation, "exceeding broad," would 
be unspeakably better than the mention of names, 
for every one in need would know that he was in- 
cluded. The invitation of Jesus is, " Whosoever will, 
may come;" and then when once within His house, 
seated at the banquet, His promise is, " Whatsoever 
ye shall ask in my name, that will I do " (John xiv. 13). 

J. H. B.,in "The Truth." 
5 



gS BIBLE READINGS. 



XXXII. 

WHY MEN DO NOT BELIEVE IN 
CHRIST. 

Men often say that they would be glad to become 
Christians, But they can not believe the Bible. Be- 
lief, they affirm, is a matter of simple reason and not 
subject to the will. A man is no more responsible 
for his belief than he is for his complexion. 

Now, Christ asserts the opposite of this. He 
affirms that the reason why men do not accept Him, 
is that they will not (John v. 40) ; and that any man 
who is willing to serve God, or to know the truth, 
will infallibly come to believe in Christ (John vii. 17; 
xviii. 37). 

If, now, we examine the New Testament more 
widely, we shall see that, in every instance where 
men are represented as failing to believe in Christ, 
it is never merely because their intellect is uncon- 
vinced : there is something sinful either in the heart 
or will. 

The reasons why men do not believe in Christ are 
these : 



BIBLE READINGS. 



99 



1. Pride, which may be national, Matt. iii. 9 ; John viii. 33 ; 
Acts xiii. 45 ; xvii. 5 ; xxii. 21, 22 ; intellectual, Matt. xi. 25 ; 
John ix 39-41 ; Rom. i. 21, 22 ; 1 Cor. i. 19-21 ; or social, 
John vii. 48. 

2. Self-righteousness, Mark ii. 16 ; Luke vii. 39 ; xviii. 10-14 ; 
Rom. x. 3. 

3. Love of praise, John v. 44 ; xii. 43. 

4. Love of the world, 2 Tim. iv. 10 ; Jas. iv. 4 ; 1 John ii. 15. 

5. Love of money, Mark x. 17-24 ; Luke xvi. 13, 14 ; 1 Tim. vi. 
9, 10. 

6. Cares of the world, Matt. xiii. 7, 22 ; Luke x. 40. 

7. Fear of man, John vii. 13 ; ix. 22 ; xii. 42. 

8. Worldly self-interest, Mark v. 16, 17 ; John xi. 48. 

9. Unwillingness to separate from impenitent friends, Luke ix. 

59-62. 

10. Unwillingness to believe what they can not understand, John 
iii. 9 ; vi. 52, 60 ; Acts xvii. 32 ; 1 Cor. ii. 14. 

11. Unwillingness to have their sins exposed, John iii. 19, 20. 

12. Unwillingness to submit to God's authority, Luke xix. 14; 
xx. 9-18. 

13. Prejudice against the messenger, Matt. xii. 24; xiii. 57; 
John i. 46 ; vi. 42 ; vii. 52 ; ix. 29. 

14. Spiritual blindness, Matt. xiii. 15 ; 1 Cor. ii. 14. 

15. Unfaithfulness to the light which they had, John xii. 36. 

16. Waiting for a convenient season, Acts xxiv. 25. 

17. Frivolous excuses, Luke xiv. 18. 

18. Lack of deep convictions, Matt. xiii. 5 ; xxiL 5. 

19. Lack of earnestness, Luke xiii. 24. 

20. Neglect of the Bible, Luke xxiv. 25 ; John v. 39 ; vii. 27 ; 
Acts xvii. 11, 12. 

21. Neglect of religious meetings, John xx. 24. 

22. Blindness to special opportunities, Luke xix. 44. 

23. Desire for special signs, Matt. xii. 38, 39 ; xvi. 1-4 ; John vi 4 

30 ; 1 Cor. i. 22. 



IOo BIBLE READINGS. 

24. Regard for human traditions, Matt. xv. 9 ; Mark ii. 23-28. 

25. Insincerity, Matt. xv. 7, 8 ; xxi. 25-31 ; Acts xxiv. 26. 

26. A controversial spirit, Matt. xxii. 1 5-40. 

27. A murmuring" spirit, Matt. xxv. 24. 

28. Having no desire for God, John v. 42 ; Rom. i. 28. 

29. Hatred of God and of Christ, John xv. 22-25. 

30. Hatred of the truth, Acts vii. 51-54 ; 2 Thess. ii. 10-12 

2 Tim. iv. 3. 

31. The power of the devil, Matt. xiii. 4, 19 ; John viii. 44 ; 

2 Cor. iv. 3, 4. 

These passages embrace nearly the entire teaching 
of the Word of God on this subject. That Word, 
which is " a discerner of the thoughts and intents of 
the heart " (Heb. iv. 12), as truly interprets human 
nature to-day as it did in the days of Christ and the 
apostles. It is not intellectual doubt which keeps 
men from believing in Christ : it is sin in the heart. 
They are responsible for rejecting the Saviour. The 
sentence pronounced in John iii. 36 is just. We are 
not arguing with sincere, honest doubters, but with 
men who at heart are opposed to Christ and to God. 
We need in our arguments to be possessed by the 
spirit of 1 Cor. iv. 2-5 ; 2 Tim. ii. 23-26. 

E. P. GARDNER, in "The Truth." 



BIBLE READINGS. 101 

XXXIII. 

THE FOOL. 

1. He despises, hates wisdom and knowledge, Prov. i. 7, 22. 

2. He is conceited, Prov. xii. 15; xxviii. 26. 

3. He is a slanderer, Prov. x. 18. 

4. He makes sport of evil and good, " mocks at sin," says there 

is no such thing, thus making light of God's word that 
warns against sin, Prov. x. 23 ; xiv. 9. 

5. He is dangerous as a friend, Prov. xiii. 20 ; xiv. 17. 

6. He is a source of grief to his parents, Prov. x. 1 ; xv. 5, 20 ; 

xvii. 21. 

7. He is a spendthrift, Prov. xxi. 20. 



1. His creed, Ps. xiv. 1. 

2. His walk, Ecc. ii. 14. 

3. His standing before God, Ecc. v. 4 ; Ps. v. 5. 

4. His mirth, Ecc. vii. 4, 6. 

5. His food, Ecc. x. 12. 

6. His house, Matt. vii. 26. 

7. His end, Luke xii. 20. 

Arranged from "THE truth. 1 



XXXIV. 

HOW CAN I KNOW WHETHER I AM A 
CHILD OF GOD? 

A READING ON I JOHN. 

THIS is a vital question. The opinion of a merely 
human adviser is not safe, for it is founded on imper- 






102 BIBLE READINGS. 

feet knowledge. If the inquirer rely on some emo- 
tion or resolution, he may exaggerate his own expe- 
rience. Nor will it do to compare his case with some 
evident Christian, as he may rest upon supposed anal- 
ogies, and forget that persons have widely different 
experiences. Thus John and Paul, Luther and Zwin- 
gli, greatly differed. 

The tests should be given not by mere men, but 
by Him who knows perfectly the human soul. He 
has given tests. They are gathered in one short let- 
ter, the first Epistle of John. It is addressed to be- 
lievers, i. 4; ii. 12-14; v. 13. 

There are two lines of statements : One of simple 
essential truths, the other of the effects produced by 
those truths in the soul. When one can honestly say, 
" I believe these truths, and I find their effects in my 
mind, my heart, my will, my conscience, and my life/' 
there must be assurance. All the effects may not be 
present, yet enough may be found to confirm in faith. 

The truths and facts are so put, repeated, every 
side shown, that the " little children " to whom the 
letter is written will be sure to see them. If we miss 
one view we may not fail to get another. 

These tests may be understood by a child. 

This outline is intended as suggestive rather than 



BIBLE READINGS. T03 

complete. The reader will easily trace the refer- 
ences. 

i. Some Truths of which we Must be Assured. 

(i). Jesus Christ was historically manifest as God incar- 
nate sent by the Father to be the Saviour of the world. 

(2). God is light, making- known our sin. 

(3). The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin. 

(4). The divine fellowship ; a sonship (iii. 1-3), a family 
composed of God, His Son and His children. 

(5). The power and presence of the Holy Spirit. 

(6). The oppositions between light and darkness, truth 
and falsehood, love and hatred, etc. 

(7). God is love and the source of salvation. 

(8). Faith in Christ secures eternal life. 

(9). Conformity to Him begins on earth ; it shall be per- 
fected in heaven. 

(10). God may be known intellectually, experimentally, 
and spiritually. 

(11). Love is the most comprehensive grace. 

These are some of the truths. Does the inquirer 
accept them ? If not, the tests are against him, ii. 
22, 23 ; iv. 1-3. 

If he does, let him apply the other tests. The 
effects of these truths on himself: 

2. Certain Effects produced by these Truths, or 

Certain Facts in the Life of the Soul. 

(1). Consistency : The belief and the conduct will stand 

together, i. 5-10. If we are really living in the light, there 

will be confession of sin and a resort to Christ for pardon and 



I0 4 BIBLE READINGS. 

cleansing. This consistency must be maintained toward 
men, ii. 9-1 1. Then there will be fellowship with the Father 
and the Son and the Christian family. 

(2). Love : Prompting obedience, excluding hatred to men, 
expelling a secular spirit, ii. 15, 17 ; brotherly, self-sacrificing, 
sincere, grateful coming from God and flowing to Him, and 
imparting to us confidence, iii. 14-21 ; iv. 7-21. 

(3). From adherence to Christ : Abiding in Him against 
all who oppose and deny Him, or who teach false doctrine. 

(4). The witness of the Spirit : Anointing, enlightening. 

(5). Sonship : Showing itself in likeness to God, spiritual- 
ity, purity, holy living, the absence of willful and habitual 
sin, iii. 1-10. 

(6). Victory : Faith overcoming. 

(7). Prayer : v. 14-17 ; confiding, frank, free, bold. 

These are not all the tests. The last verses of the 
epistle give a summary. " We know " is repeated 
with great emphasis. " We know," we are certain, 
that we are of God, in His family, etc. 

There is an intellectual knowledge that precedes 
faith. But this " knowing " is spiritual. It results 
from our belief, love, conformity to Christ, and holy 
living. It crowns faith. With it the Christian can 
say, " I not only believe, but I know." 

PROF. W. M. BLACKBURN, D.D. 



BIBLE READINGS. 



XXXV. 



I05 



SEVEN THINGS THE BELIEVER SHOULD RE- 
MEMBER ABOUT THE FLESH. 

1. That He is under no Obligation to it. "We are 

debtors not to the flesh " (Rom. viii. 12). He does not owe 
it anything - . It has no claim upon him. He once thought 
he must respond to its command. He has now discovered 
that all his troubles have come from that source. All that 
it has done for him has been to keep him in the condition 
where he " can not please God " (Rom. viii. 8). All that it 
has brought to him has been " corruption " (Gal. vi. 8) and 
" death " (Rom. viii. 6, margin). All that it has made of 
him is a " servant of sin " (Rom. vii. 25) and an " enemy of 
God " (Rom. viii. 7, margin). He has never received any 
benefit from it. It can not claim from him any return for 
any good thing brought to him. 

2. That He must not make it His Companion. "Who 

walk not after the flesh " (Rom. viii. 4). He once found his 
pleasure in following the " desires of the flesh/' now he sees 
that their ways must be opposite ; they must have no fellow* 
ship with each other ; their desires are not the same ; their 
pleasures are not the same. Its walk is always in " unclean- 
ness " (Eph. iv. 19), and its end " destruction " (Phil. iii. 19). 
He says to it as Abraham said to God, " If thou wilt take 
the left hand, then I will go to the right ; or if thou depart 
to the right hand, then I will go to the left " (Gen. xiii. 9). 
Wherever " the flesh " wants to go, he knows " the Spirit " 
does not want to go. 

3. That He must not make any Allowance for it. 

"Make not provision for the flesh" (Rom. xiii. 14). It will 

5* 



106 BIBLE READINGS. 

claim his pity because he denies all its wants, or his sym- 
pathy, that it is deprived of so much that it once had without 
any dispute. It will contend that at least some little of the 
life that was once all its own should be given up to it. He 
must not listen to one of its requests. He must not give it 
so much as a place to set its foot upon ; no little corner for 
itself. He must not have a single "work of the flesh" 
manifest itself, for all its works are " only evil continually." 
His face must be " set as a flint " against every lust of the flesh. 

4. He must not give it an Opportunity to show itself. 

" Use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh" (Gal. v. 13). 
It is " deceitful " and by guile will entrap him if the least 
opening is left for it. It is "desperately wicked," and what 
it can not obtain by its wiles it will obtain by force if any 
spot is left weak or unguarded. It will not wait for an invi- 
tation or for permission ; but if " an occasion " presents 
itself it will enter and commence its work. The believer 
must pray against it, watch against it, and prepare for it so 
that it may never by fraud or force obtain an advantage 
over him. 

5. That He must not trust it under any circum- 

stances. "For we have no confidence in the flesh" (Phil, 
iii. 3). There is no dependence to be placed upon it for 
anything good. It can never be so changed that it will be 
fit to be trusted. We have sometimes been deceived by a 
supposed friend and have said that we would never trust 
him again. But when he has asked for forgiveness, and 
promised better for the future, we have reconsidered our 
purpose and restored him to our confidence, and he has 
proved faithful. But never, never must the believer put 
any more " confidence in the flesh." It can not be trusted. 
It has never done anything but deceive him. It will never 
do anything else than that. 



BIBLE READINGS. 



107 



6. That He must not expect any Good Thing from it. 

"In my flesh dwelleth no good thing" (Rom. vii. 18) ; "it 
is sinful" (Rom. viii. 3) ; "unclean" (Gal. v. 19) ; "filthy" 
(2 Cor. vii. 1) ; "corrupt" (Gen. vi. 12). It can not bring 
forth anything but of its own kind. "Who can bring a clean 
thing out of an unclean ? not one" (Job xiv. 4). It is not 
good in itself and no good thing can be brought from it. 
There is nothing in it or its fruits that the believer can make 
use of to advance him in his Christian life. It is of no ad- 
vantage to him in anyway. "No good thing" is written 
upon it and all its works. 

7. He must look upon it as a "Dead Thing." "And 

they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh" (Gal. v. 24). 

The believer must make it in his sight what it is in God's 
sight. He must treat it as God treats it — as something that 
is dead, and that he never more must look upon as a living 
thing having claims upon him. A dead body must be put 
out of view. Men do not transact business with a dead 
body — they do not make it their companion — they do not 
provide food and pleasure for it. Men would not allow a 
dead and putrefying body to be brought into a pure and 
pleasant home and kept there ; they would not put their 
trust in it or go to it for help. Nothing is provided for the life 
of a body that is put to death and buried. The believer must 
provide nothing for the " body of this death " (Rom. vii. 24). 

He must have nothing to do with it. It will want to have 
to do with him. He must shut his eyes to all its attractions, 
his ears to all its solicitations, his heart to all its allurements, 
and at no time or in no way recognize it as having any right 
to his notice. 

May the Lord Jesus grant that we may all " through the 
Spirit mortify the deeds of the body" (Rom-, viii. 13), and 
" not fulfill the lust of the flesh " (Gal. v. 16). 

R. A. ORR. 



108 BIBLE READINGS. 

XXXVI. 
TEMPTATION. 

" The Flesh " the great source, Rom. vii. 18. 

The world and the devil operate through " the flesh/' i Tim. 

vi. 9. 
The old nature is never dead. It is down when we are " in 

the Spirit/' It CAN be overcome by — Prayer, Matt. vi. 13 ; 

xxvi. 41; Growth, Luke viii. 13; Standing, Eph. vi. 14; 

Mortify, Col. iii. 5 ; Cut off, Matt. v. 29 ; Resist, Jas. iv. 7. 
Promises, Jas. i. 12; Rev. iii. 10; 2 Pet. ii. 9; 1 Cor. x. 13; 

1 Pet. i. 6. 

J. C. H. 



XXXVII. 

CONFESSING CHRIST. 

A NORWEGIAN boy at the noonday meeting put it 
this way : " If I tell the world about Jesus, He will 
tell the Father about me." 

Peter, Matt. xvi. 16. Demoniac, Mark v. 19, 20 ; Matt. 

Blind man, John ix. x. 32 ; Luke xii. 8 ; Rom. x. 9 ; 

Woman of Samaria, John iv. 1 John iv. 15 ; iv. 2. 
Leper, Mark i. 40-44. 



BIBLE READINGS. JCX) 

XXXVIII. 
WHAT HAS BEEN DONE WITH OUR SINS. 

Borne, Isa. liii. 12. Not remembered, Jer. xxxi. 44; 

Taken away, John i. 29. Heb. x. 17. 

Free from, Rom. vi. 18. Blotted out, Isa. xliv. 22. 

Put away, Heb. ix. 26. Cast into the sea, Mic. vii. 19. 

Cleansed, 1 John i. 7. Saved from, Matt. i. 21. 

Covered, Ps. lxxxv. 2. Mercy shown, Heb. viii. 12. 

J. C. H. 



XXXIX. 

THE ATTITUDES OF THE BELIEVER. 

Leaning : John xiii. 23. Intimacy, dependence, confidence, 

safety, use your friends. 
Lying Down : Ps. xxiii. 2 ; Ezek. xxxiv. 14. Rest, peace, 

assurance. 
Sitting : Deut. xxxiii. 3 ; Luke viii. 35 ; x. 39. Listening, 

learning, admiring. 
Standing: Eph. vi. 13, 14; Phil. iv. i. f Firmness, readiness 

for work. 
Walking : Eph. ii. 1, 2 ; v. 2 ; iv. 1 ; v. 8 ; ii. 10 ; iv. 17 ; Phil. 

iv. 1. Progress, steady work. 
Running : 1 Cor. ix. 24, 26 ; Heb. xii. 1. Eagerness, striving. 
Mounting : Isa. xl. 31. Exultation, glory. 

Arranged from " Fragments that Remain" by J. C. H. 



1 1 o BIBLE READINGS, 

XL. 
TRIALS. 

Common to all, Job v. 7 ; John xvi. 33 ; Acts xiv. 22. 
Benefits, Ps. xciv. 12 ; cxix. 67 ; 1 Pet. iv. 12-14 ; Jas. i. 2, 3 ; 

Acts v. 41 ; Matt. v. 11, 12 ; Rom. v. 3 ; 2 Cor. xii. 9, 10 ; 

John xv. 19 ; 2 Cor. vii. 4 ; iv. 17 ; Rom. viii. 17, 18 ; iPet. 

i. 6 ; Heb. iv. 15 ; Heb. ii. 18. 
A WARNING, Matt. xiii. 20, 21. 
Praise God, i Cor. x. 13 ; Rev. iii. 10. j. c. H. 



XLI. 

WHAT IS IT TO BE A CHRISTIAN? 

Acts xxvi. 28 ; xi. 26. 

A Disciple, Luke xiv. 26, 27, 33. 
A Believer, John ii. 11 ; viii. 31. 

Faith, John i. 12 ; iii. 15, 16, 18, 36 ; v. 24 ; vi. 37, 47. 

A Lover of God and His Children, Gal. v. 6 (Phil. 5) ; 
1 Pet. i. 8, 9, 22 ; John xiii. 34 ; Col. i. 4 ; 1 John iii. 14, 23. 
A SON of God, John i. 12 ; 1 John iii. 2 ; Rom. viii. 14. 
A Follower, Matt. iv. 19 ; ix. 9 ; xix. 16 ; Luke ix. 59. 
Obedient, i John v. 2-5 ; John vi. 27-29. 
Uncondemned, Rom. viii. 1. 
He knows it, i John v. 13. J. c. H. 



BIBLE READINGS. j j r 

XLIT. 
HOW CAN I KNOW THAT I AM A CHRISTIAN ? 

There is a supernatural element involved, and so we can not 
give an answer in a definite quantity. Every answer must 
contain " X." 

It is all mystery. Christ says so, John iii. 8. There is 
Life from Death, Rom. viii. 6. 

A Birth, John iii. 2, 3. We can see the effects, but can not 
understand the mystery of Life. No model conversion, but 
all have similar evidences of the new birth. Where there is 
life it will manifest itself. Life is of the Spirit. The fruit 
of the Spirit, Eph. ii. 3 ; GaL v. 19. 

Love, i John iii. 14-19. 

Faith, John iii. 16 ; 2 Tim. i. 12. 

Temperance, a holding in. 

Victory over Sin, i John v. 4. j. c. H. 



XLIII. 
THE CERTAINTY OF SALVATION. 

Phil. i. 6 ; 2 Pet. i. 10 ; John x. 28 ; 1 Pet i. 3, 5 ; Heb. x. 14 ; 
ix. 12 ; Jer. xxxii. 40 ; John v. 24 ; vi. 51 ; vi. 37-40 ; x. 27, 
28 ; Rom. viii. 
PASSAGES apparently teaching the contrary, Heb. vi. 4-6. 

The IF of verse 6 evidently marks this passage as hypo- 
thetical, Rom. xi. 17, 21 ; 1 Cor. ix. 27. The key is found in 
1 John ii. 19. 

J. C. H. 



II2 BIBLE READINGS. 



XLIV. 



SEVEN REASONS FOR COMING TO THE 
LORD'S SUPPER. 

1. The participation of all Christians is an act of obedience, 

Matt. xxvi. 26, 27 ; Mark xiv. 22 ; 1 Cor. xi. 24. 

2. It is an act of remembrance, Luke xxii. 19 ; 1 Cor. xi. 24, 25. 

3. It is an act of testimony to His death, 1 Cor. xi. 26 ; v. 7. 

4. It is an act of confession that salvation is through His blood, 

Matt. xxvi. 28 ; Luke xii. 8, 9 ; Rom. x. 9, 10 ; Rev. iii. 5. 

5. It is an act of fellowship, 1 Cor. x. 16, 17. 

6. It is an act of praise and thanksgiving, Luke xxii. 19 ; 1 Cor. 

x. 16 ; xi. 24. 

7. It is an act silently, but powerfully, proclaiming His second 

coming, 1 Cor. xi. 26. 

J. H. B., in " The Truth." 



XLV. 

FOR A THANKSGIVING SERVICE AFTER A 
COMMUNION SEASON. 

Ps. xcii. 1. Eph. v. 20. 

Phil. iv. 6. Col. iv. 2. 

Col. ii. 7. 1 Cor. xv. 57. 

2 Cor. ii. 14. 2 Cor. ix. 15. 

J. C. H. 



XLVI. 
THE BELIEVER'S AND GOD'S ESTIMATE. 

I AM BLACK. BUT COMELY. 

Songs i. 5. Songs i. 5. 

Ps. Ii. 5. Ezek. xvi. 14. 



H3 



BIBLE READINGS. 

Luke v. 8. Songs iv. I. 

Job xlii. 6. Songs iv. 7. 

Rom. vii. 21. Matt. ix. 2. 

( Col. ii. 10. 
Rom. vii. 18. ] Col L 28 _ 

I Pet. ii. 9. 

Arranged from "Daily Light" by J. C. H, 



XLVII. 
FULL CONSECRATION TO THE LORD. 

ZECHARIAH xiv. 20. 

1. The heart: thoughts, purposes, tempers, affections, Prov. xxiii. 

26 ; Ps. xvii. 3 ; Col. iii. 5. 

2. The conversation : talk and conduct, Ps. lxxi. 24 ; Phil. i. 27. 

3. The pursuits: avocations, Rom. xii. 11 ; Luke ii. 49. 

4. The enjoyments : recreations and pleasures, 2 Cor. xii. 10 ; 

vii. 4. 

5. The possessions : talents, influence, and property, 1 Cor. vi. 20. 

Thus the whole self is included — soul, body, all the powers, 
influences, energies, and activities of the whole nature, and 
if all these in the whole Church were consecrated to God 
then would we soon behold the coming in of the glorious era 
foretold in prophecy, when "the mountains of the Lord's, 
etc., shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall 

flow UntO it." SAMUEL HART. 



XLVIII. 
SEVEN "ARES" IN FIRST CORINTHIANS VI. 

I. "Ye are washed." Here it is the Aorist tense, denoting a 
momentary or transient action, fully finished in the past. 



ii4 



BIBLE READINGS. 



Trace throughout the Bible the two washings, with blood 
and with water, as the symbol of the Word of God, Rev. i. 5 ; 
vii. 14; 1 John i. 7 ; Lev. xvii. 11 ; Matt. xxvi. 28 ; Rom. iii. 
20-26 ; v. 9 ; Eph. i. 7 ; Col. i. 20-22 ; Heb. ix. 11-22 ; 1 Pet. 
i. 18, 19; Ex. xxix. 4; John xiii. 1-10; xv. 3; xix. 34, 35; 
Eph. v. 26 ; Heb. x. 19-22 ; 1 John v. 6, 8. 

"Ye are sanctified." Here also is the Aorist, implying an 
accomplished act. Consider the standing of the believer as 
already sanctified in the Father's view, and then as mani- 
festing his position before God in a life of practical and pro- 
gressive holiness, observing how the latter is always repre- 
sented as springing from the former, 1 Cor. i. 2, 30; Acts 
xx. 32; xxvi. 18; Heb. ii. 11 ; x. 10, 14; xiii. 12; 1 Pet. i. 
14-16 ; Lev. xi. 44, 45 ; xx. 24-26 ; John xvii. 18 ; 1 Cor. iii. 
17 ; Col. iii. 12 ; Heb. iii. 1 ; Jude 20. 

"Ye are justified." Here is another Aorist, showing that 
justification is complete for the believer. Notice that it 
means just the opposite of the word condemn, Deut. xxv. J ; 
Job ix. 20 ; Isa. 1. 8, 9 ; Prov. xvii. 1 5 ; Rom. viii. 33, 34 ; 
Job xxv. 4 ; Acts xiii. 39 ; Rom. iii. 20-30 ; iv. 5 ; v. 1, 9 ; 
Gal. ii. 16 ; v. 4 ; Jas. ii. 17-26. 

" Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ ? " 
Here we have the present tense, denoting continuous action, 
1 Cor. xii. 27 ; Rom. xii. 5 ; Eph. i. 22, 23 ; v. 30 ; Col. i. 18, 
24; iii. 1-5. 

"Ye are not your own." Here again is the present tense, 
showing our lasting obligation and privilege, Rom. xiv. 7, 8 ; 

1 Cor. x. 31 ; xii. 7 ; 2 Cor. v. 15 ; Gal. vi. 14 ; Phil. i. 21 ; 

2 Tim. ii. 4 ; 1 Pet. iv. 10. 

"Ye are bought with a price." The Aorist is once more 
used to indicate that the demanded price of our redemption 
was paid and accepted, Acts xx. 28 ; Gal. i. 4 ; ii. 20 ,' Eph. 
ii. 13 ; Col. i. 12-14 J Tit. ii. 14 ; Heb. ix. 26-28 ; Rev. v. 9. 

" Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which 



BIBLE READINGS. \ \ 5 

are God's." The best authorities omit the last clause, but 
the same truth is abundantly taught elsewhere, Rom. xi. 36 ; 
2 Cor. v. 5, 18 ; Eph. ii. 8-10 ; Tit. iii. 5 ; Rev. iv. 11. 

J. H. B., in "The Truth." 






XLIX. 
THE "COMES" OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

1. Judgment, Gen. vii. 1. 6. Care of Israel's faithful rem- 

2. Salvation, Isa. i. 18. nant in the last days, Isa. 

3. The Holy Spirit, Ez. xxxvii. 9. xxvi. 20. 

4. Worship, Ps. xcv. 6. 7. Second appearing of Christ, 

5. Revival, Song of Sol. iv. 6. Jer. i. 5. 

J. H. B., in " The Truth" 



L. 

THE "COMES" OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

1. God's invitation, Luke xiv. 7. 5. Separation from the world, 

2. The soul's struggle, Mark 2 Cor vi. 17. 

x. 21. 6. Strength for service, John 

3. Grace to the chief of sinners, xxi. 12. 

Luke xix. 5. 7. Second coming of Christ, 

4. Rest, Matt. xi. 28. Rev. xxii. 20. 

J. H. B., in " The Truth" 



H6 BIBLE READINGS, 

LI. 

EVERLASTING. 

ROM. xvi. 26. The everlasting God. God will live 
forever, therefore all His plans will be worked out. 

In Deut. xxxiii. 27, Moses says to the good people 
in the nation of Israel, "The eternal God is thy 
refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." 

God Himself is the good man's hiding-place. Thou 
art my hiding-place (Ps. xxxii. 7). So long as a man 
regards God as an angry judge he will be afraid of 
Him ; he will try to hide from Him as Adam did in 
the garden (Gen. iii. 8), but when he sees in Him a 
loving Father he will run to Him, and hide in Him. 

The guilty prisoner trembles in the presence of the 
judge, and would gladly run away from him ; but 
when that judge goes home, his children do not trem- 
ble and try to get away ; no : they see in him their 
loving father ; their faith works by love, not by fear. 
When you know God as your Father you will delight 
in Him, and repose in His everlasting arms. 

Isa. ix. 6. The everlasting Father. The prophet 
looked through the prophetic glass, saw the day of 
Christ 700 years before it began to dawn, and called 



BIBLE READINGS. 1 1 7 

Him " the everlasting Father." Christ was " God mani- 
fest in the flesh" (1 Tim. iii. 16). The Word was 
God, and the Word was made flesh (Jno. i. 1, 14). 
In Christ we have a brother, a Saviour, a Father. 

Jer. xxxi. 3. I have loved thee with an everlasting 
love ; therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn 
thee. What a comfort it is that divine love is ever- 
lasting. Well might the apostle say that nothing 
shall separate us from the love of God (Rom. viii. 

38, 39)- 

Isa. xxvi. 4. Trust in the Lord forever; for in the 
Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength, or the Rock of 
Ages. See the margin. Rock is the emblem of 
strength, and God is the everlasting rock for us to 
build on. To build on Him is to trust in Him ; in 
His love and faithfulness (1 John i. 9). 

Dan. xii. 2. Here we read of everlasting life and 
everlasting contempt. 

Luke xviii. 30. In the world to come life ever- 
lasting. John iii. 16: For God so loved the world 
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever 
believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlast- 
ing life. 

The love of life is an instinct divinely planted in 
our nature* God comes to us in the Gospel, appeals 



1 1 8 BIBLE READINGS. 

to this instinct, and offers to satisfy it. Our lives are 
forfeited ; we are under the awful sentence of death ; 
and He comes to save us from death, and to give us 
life — life that can never end. 

In Jno. iv. 14 Christ promises to satisfy all the 
instincts of him who receives the truth into his heart. 
" The water that I shall give him shall be in him a 
well of water springing up into everlasting life" Gos- 
pel truth in the heart is a never-failing source of re- 
freshment. 

In Luke xvi. 9 we read of everlasting habitations. 
The mansions in the Father's house (Jno. xiv. 1-4) 
are everlasting abodes. The Christian has a building 
of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the 
heavens (2 Cor. v. 1-9). 

The righteous will live forever, but the wicked die 
the second death — die forever. Those who die in 
their sins have to die a second time, and that second 
death will be far worse than the first. Come, oh 
come to Christ for pardon and everlasting life. 

In 2 Thess. ii. 16 we read that God has given His 
people everlasting consolation. The wicked are to be 
punished with everlasting destruction (2 Thess. i. 9). 

These are a few of tlie texts in which the word 
everlasting is found. The word is like thq. cloud 



BIBLE READINGS. ng 

that has a dark side and a bright side. Toward the 
Egyptians it was dark and terrible ; toward the Is- 
raelites it was bright and beautiful. This word is to 
the Christian most delightful, but to the wicked it is 
dark and terrible. Unsaved men are on the wrong 
side — on the dark side. 

Are you anxious to know how you are to be saved? 
Then turn with me to a few passages that show how 
a sinner obtains salvation (John iii. 14, 15). 

As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, 
even so must the Son of man be lifted up ; that who- 
soever believeth in Him should not perish, but have 
eternal life. The Israelites had life when they looked 
— life for a look. To believe in Christ is to look at 
Him with the eye of the heart ; and all who so look 
are saved (Jno. v. 24). 

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my 
word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath ever- 
lasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, 
or into judgment, but is passed from (or passed over 
from) death unto life. Here you see the connection 
between believing and having. The man that believes 
has life ; he has not to wait for it, he has it now ; 
and for him there is no judgment-day where there 
will be any question of sin ; for that is, in his case, 



120 BIBLE READINGS. 

settled forever. It is true that he will have to stand 
before the judgment-seat of Christ (2 Cor. v. 10), but 
not to be judged as a sinner. He will appear there 
to be judged as a saint, and to receive his reward. 
Men are saved by free grace, saved for nothing, and 
after they are saved they work for God, and their 
works follow them to the judgment-seat, where they 
are rewarded according to what they have done. 

" Be it known unto you .... that through this 
man (Christ) is preached unto you the forgiveness of 
sins ; and by him, all that believe are justified from 
all things" (Acts xiii. 38, 39). This means that God 
has not a single thing against those who believe in 
Christ. Rom. x. 9; Acts xvi. 31 ; Jno. i. 12. 

GEORGE RODGERS. 



LIL 

THE PEACE LEFT AND THE PEACE 
GIVEN. 

John xiv. 27. 

A DIFFERENCE may be noted between peace and 
rest. Rest pertains to the powers of the soul rather 






BIBLE RE A DINGS. 121 

than to the sensibilities of the heart. Peace is the 
hush and quiet of the emotions. Rest is the cessa- 
tion of strivings and toilsome endeavor. It is also 
the equilibrium of powers engaged in the intensest 
effort. Peace is a state or conditibn free from trouble 
and from fear. " Let not your heart be troubled, 
neither let it be afraid. " There are no causes of 
trouble within or of fear without. Souls are in- 
vited to Christ to find rest from heavy burdens and 
yokes of laborious, fruitless service ; hearts are set 
free from causes of uneasy and fearful conditions of 
being before God. 

In gathering together the Scriptures concerning 
the peace left and the peace given, it will become 
evident that the Holy Spirit never confuses language 
on this subject. 

i. God is the God of peace, as possessing, delighting in, 
causing, making peace, Rom. xv. 33 ; producing brotherly 
peace, Rom. xvi. 20 ; causing peace for and in saints, 1 Cor. 
xiv. 33 ; 2 Cor. xiii. 1 1 ; 1 Thess. v. 23 ; Heb. xiii. 20 ; Jehovah 
Shalom, Judges vi. 24. 

2. The King and Kingdom of Peace. All is related to 

righteousness, Judges vi. 24 ; Isa. ix. 6 ; Heb. vii. 1,2; Isa. 
xxxii. 17 ; lii. 7 ; Ps. xxix. 11 ; xxxvii. II ; lxxii. ; Micah v. 5 ; 
Haggai ii. 9 ; Matt. v. 4, 9 ; Luke ii. 14 ; xix. 38. 

3. " Peace I leave." This is the peace of the forgiven sinner. 

It is through the blood of Jesus Christ. It was left by Him 
6 



122 BIBLE READINGS, 

before He was glorified. It springs from accomplished re- 
demption. It is peace with God. It is the sinner's through 
faith, Luke vii. 5 ; Rom. v. 1 ; Eph. ii. 13-17 ; Col. i. 20; 
Job xxii. 21 ; Isa. liii. 5 ; xxvi. 3. Accordingly it is the peace 
primarily to be published to an ungodly world, Isa. Hi. 7 ; 
Acts x. 36 ; Eph. vu 15. Compare, also, Rom. xv. 13 with 
Rom. xv. 9, to see how much of '* the hope " for which 
" we were saved " (Rom. viii. 18-25) remains to be fulfilled. 

4. u My PEACE I give unto you." This is the peace of a Son 
of God cleansed as Jesus was clean, and loved as Jesus was 
loved, John xvii. 26 ; 1 John iv. 17, last clause 

The cross is the ground of the peace Jesus left ; the Spirit 
given to the sons is the power and bringer of the peace 
Jesus gives. " My peace " is of the sons one with the 
Father. 

The question of sin is heard no more ; the reality of son- 
ship has taken its place ; the peace of forgiveness is glorified 
in the more exceeding glory of the sonship. The peace of 
the forgiven sinner comes through the death of Jesus ; the 
peace of a son of God, from the life in glory of Jesus. The 
one is peace through Christ, the other is peace from Christ. 
The peace of Christ (" my peace ") is of a Son, and of a Son 
one with the Father. It is the peace of God himself, who 
is not only beyond the touch of sin, but beyond all touch of 
evil, trouble, fear of any creature or event eternity might 
reveal. It is an experience of Phil. iv. 6, 7, raised to its 
highest power of meaning forever and ever. It is a holy, 
fathomless, eternal, glorified peace — the peace of God. 

This peace of a son of God being a gift, it is to be ours 
through faith. Many who have experience of Rom. v. 1, 
seem to stop there, and go not on through Rom. v. 2-1 1, or 
Rom. viii. 28-39. 

This distinction between the peace Jesus left and the peace 



BIBLE READINGS. 



123 



Jesus gives, is seen in the symbolic greetings of Jesus to the 
disciples recorded in John xx. 19-23. The " peace be unto 
you " of verse nineteen is related to the pierced hands and 
riven side of Jesus in verse twenty. 

It is the peace and joy of sinners assured of salvation, 
when they see the Lord crucified and risen for them. The 
second " peace be unto you " of verse twenty-one is related 
to the breath of verse twenty-two. It was symbolic of the 
mighty Breath of Pentecost, when in one consummate hour 
the disciples in the light and power of the heaven-descended 
Spirit of the Son, knew themselves to be sons of God, and 
endued with power sent as the Son of God had been sent 
(John xvii. 18), and by the gospel to remit or to retain sins. 
From that moment peace flowed as a river in the midst of 
the disorder and persecution and rage of the unbelieving 
world. 

Accordingly, nearly every epistle written to saints as sons 
of God, opens with the greeting, " Grace be unto you and 
peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, ,, 
John xx. 17. " Our Father," implies sons and peace from 
Him ; "our Lord Jesus Christ/' suggests brethren and the 
peace of the first-born of many brethren ; the peace beyond 
all touch of fear or trouble, the peace felt and kept in the 
power of the Holy Spirit given to the sons of God. 
This peace of the sons implies the mutual peace of brethren 
as of one body and in one spirit. 

Accordingly, as each epistle opens with a greeting of peace 
to believers as sons, it closes with peace to them as brethren. 
Such closing prayer and wish is suggestive of, or connected 
with, unbrotherly dissensions, or with ungodly troublers of 
the churches. The context readily explains the peace in- 
tended, Rom. xiv. 17, 19; xv. 33; xvi. 20; 1 Cor. vii. 15 J 
xvi. 1 1 ; 2 Cor. xiii. 1 1 ; Gal. v. 2 ; 2 Tim. ii. 22 ; Phil. iv. 9 ; 
Eph. vi. 23 ; Col. iii. 15 ; 1 Thess. v. 23 ; 2 Thess. iii. 16 ; 



124 BIBLE READINGS. 

Heb. xii. 14; xiii. 20, 21 ; Jas. iii. 13-18; 1 Pet. iii. 8-12; 
v. 14 ; 2 Pet. iii. 14. 
6. " Not as the world giveth give I unto you." The world gives 
substitutes and counterfeits of the peace of a Son of God, 
as well as sandy foundations of a place with God. It can 
say, " Peace be unto thee ;" but it can only say, it can not 
give ; Jesus speaks, and it is done ; a word, a work. 

Have you the peace Jesus left with His cross on earth, 
and the peace He gives with His Spirit from heaven ? 

B. F. J. 



LIIL 

ADOPTION 
I. Plan. 



Our Condition, Ez. xvi. 3. God owns him, Heb. xii. 5. 

God's Pity, Gal. iv. 4, 5. Divine caressing, Jer. xxxi. 20. 

The Act, John i. 12. God assumes the relation, 

The Instrument, James i. 18. 2 Cor. vi. 18. 
The Recognition, Rom. viii. 15. 

II. Subjects. 

Who ? Rom. ix. 8. The Fellowship, Heb. ii. 11. 

How ? Gal. iii. 26. The Family, John xi. 52. 

The Witness, Rom. viii. 16. The Discipline, Deut. viii. 5. 

III. Spirit of the Adopted. 

Honored, 1 John iii. 1. Kind, Matt. v. 44, 45. 

Purify, 1 Pet. ii. 1, also 2 Cor. Consistent, Matt. v. 16. 
vii. 1. Security, Prov. xiv. 26. 



BIBLE READINGS. 



125 



Dependence, Matt. vii. 25, 32. Power in coming to Him, Matt. 
Reliable assurance, Matt. vii. vi. 9. 
11. 

IV. Glory. 

Heir, Gal. iv. 7. Like Him, 1 John iii. 2. 

S. B. ALDERSON. 



LIV. 



LAW AND GRACE. 



Law. 

Exodus ii. 12. 

" iii. 2-5. 
iv. 1-3. 

" iv. 6. 

" vii. 19-21. 

" x. 22. 

" xi. 4-6. 

" xix. 16-21. 

" xx. 21, 25, 26, 

" xxxii. 28. 
Deut. xxi. 18-21. 



John i. 17. 



Grace. 
John i. 4. 
" i. 14. 

" i.43. 
" ii. 1-10. 
" iii. 16. 

" ix. 5-38. 

" x. 10, 27-29. 

" xiii. 1-10. 

" xiv. 6. 
Acts ii. 41. 
Luke xv. 1 1-23. 



The law can not justify, Acts xiii. 39 ; nor free us from 
sin and death, Rom. viii. 1-3 ; nor give righteousness, Gal. 
ii. 21 ; iii. 21 ; nor make perfect, Heb. vii. 19 ; x. 1, 2. What; 
then, was the purpose of the law ? Rom. iii. 19 ; v. 20 
Gal. iii. 19. 

J. H. B., in " The Truth." 



126 BIBLE READINGS. 



LV. 

THE ENJOYMENT OF GOD AND THE 
CONFESSION OF SIN. 

These two things are closely and inseparably con- 
nected ; so connected that no man can have any real 
enjoyment of God who does not confess his sin. But 
before there can be any true confession of sin or any 
real enjoyment of God, there must be a knowledge 
of sin and a knowledge of God. I can not confess sin 
if I do not know what sin is, and whether I am a sin- 
ner ; and enjoyment of God is impossible so long as 
I have no knowledge of Him or acquaintance with 
Him. 

What is sin ? Sin is transgression of the law, or 
lawlessness (anomia), (i John iii. 4). Right is con- 
formity to a rule ; wrong is violation of the rule. 
The law of God, which expresses the mind of God, 
is the rule ; it is a straight rod, and our lives should 
be as straight as that is. Our lives and God's law 
ought to be like two parallel lines ; between them 
should be an exact correspondence. Sometimes sin 
is regarded as a debt. A debt is an unfulfilled obli- 
gation. Jesus the great teacher thought of sin as a 






BIBLE READINGS. 1 27 

debt ; and told His disciples to pray, " Forgive us 
our debts " (Matt. vi. 12). When we fail to render 
unto God all that is due from us to Him, we sin. 
The entire will of a rational creature should be sub- 
ject to the will of God. He who pays this does not 
sin ; and he who fails to pay it commits sin. When 
our wills are not in harmony with the will of God, 
we sin. 

If all this be true, sin is a reality, and all have 
sinned (Rom. iii. 23). To say we have not sinned is 
to deceive ourselves (1 Jno. i. 8-10). Every one has 
broken the greatest commandment in the Bible ; for 
Christ says the first commandment is this : " Thou 
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and 
with all thy soul, and with all thy mind " (Matt. xxii. 
37). Now, if there has been a moment in your life 
when you could have loved God any more than you 
did love Him, you have been guilty of breaking the 
greatest of all the commandments. Has there been 
a moment in your past life when you were not break- 
ing this commandment ? The Bible is a great level- 
er ; it puts us all on a level, and says : " There is no 
difference " (Rom. iii. 22). We are sinners, all of us 
have sinned. We need a Saviour ; we must be saved 
from our sins or perish, for the wages of sin is death 



j 28 BIBLE READINGS. 

(Rom. vi. 23). Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth 
death (James i. 15). The Bible speaks of a second 
death. The first death is that of the body, the sec- 
ond is that of the body and soul in hell (Matt. x. 28). 
The bodies of the bad and the good will be raised to 
life ; the good will awake to everlasting life, and the bad 
to shame and everlasting contempt (Dan. xii. 2). The 
whole man, body and soul, must, after the resurrec- 
tion, if unpardoned, die the second time, die a most 
terrible death. What we need is to be saved from our 
sins, and this is what Christ waits to do for men, what 
He was sent into the world to do (Matt. i. 21). But 
before He could do this He had to be made sin for us 
(2 Cor. v. 21). His soul was made an offering for sin 
(Isa. liii. 10). He bore our sins in His own body, on the 
tree, or to the tree, the cross where He destroyed them 
(1 Pet. ii. 24). He suffered, the Just One for the un- 
just ones, that He might bring them to God (1 Pet. 
iii. 18). He died for our sins (1 Cor. xv. 3). Man by 
his sin has shut the door of heaven against him- 
self; he has hung a veil between himself and God. 
Christ has taken our place, has suffered for our sin, 
has paid our debts, and opened a new and living way 
for us through the veil ; that is to say, His flesh 
(Heb. x. 20). We have not now to suffer for our 



BIBLE READINGS. 



129 



sins ; Christ has done this for us, but He requires that 
a confession be made. If we confess our sins, He is 
faithful and just to forgive our sins (1 John i. 9). He 
is faithful to His own word, He is just to Christ, who 
died that we might live. 

There are some men who do confess their sins and 
never obtain salvation, are never forgiven. Turn to 
a few passages which tell us of men who made a con- 
fession of their sins, but who never obtained forgive- 
ness, and to some passages which tell us of persons 
who confessed in a right way and were saved. 

In Ex. x. 16 we read of a hard-hearted sinner say- 
ing, " I have sinned ;" and he died unsaved. 

In Num. xxii. 34 we find a double-minded man 
saying, " I have sinned." Now turn to Josh. vii. 20, 
where you read of a very doubtful penitent saying 
when he knew that he must die, " I have sinned." In 
I Sam. xv. 24 we have a very insincere man saying, 
" I have sinned." In Matt, xxvii. 4 we have a 
man in despair saying, " I have sinned," and then 
taking his own life. Now turn to Ps. li. ; there is 
David on his knees, a backslider, saying, " I have 
sinned ;" that man was saved from his sin. 

Now turn to Luke xv. In that precious chapter 

the prodigal son, a true penitent, says, " I have 
6* 



1 30- BIBLE READINGS. 

sinned," and goes on to rejoice in forgiveness. Some 
men are a long time before they are made willing to 
confess their sin to God. The thirty-second psalm 
shows that David was a long time, I think a full year, 
before he was willing to make the confession that is 
recorded in the fifty-first psalm. Read these two 
psalms together ; they refer to the same thing — to 
David's sad fall and his restoration. Now read in 
connection with this subject, Lev. xxvi. 40-42, and 
Matt. iii. 6. These texts show that God waits for 
confession. Do not forget that with the heart man 
believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth con- 
fession is made unto salvation (Rom. x. 8-13). But 
it must be a true confession that we make. A con- 
fession in word only is not enough ; a formal confes- 
sion, however scriptural it may be, is not enough ; it 
must be real, genuine, from the heart. Some confess 
their sin, and then lay all the blame on their, educa- 
tion, or circumstances, or some person other than 
themselves. In real confession, we say, and we feel, 
that we are guilty ; the blame is all our own. It is to 
stand on God's side on the question of our sin ; it is 
to take sides with God against ourselves, and not 
look out for some excuse. It is a deep-rooted con- 
viction that I am all evil, and that there is no excuse 



BIBLE READINGS. ^ 

for my sin ; it is not to be referred to anything out- 
side of myself. Most of us are wonderfully pleased 
with ourselves. In true confession to God we fall 
out with ourselves, we abhor ourselves (Job xlii. 6). 

He that covereth his sins shall not prosper ; but 
whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy 
(Prov. xxviii. 13). 

" He looketh upon men, and if any say, / have 
sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it 
profited me not, He will deliver his soul from going 
down to the pit, and his life shall see the light " (Job 
xxxiii. 27). 

Many people, even Christian people, are going 
along with a bad conscience, and have no enjoyment 
of God, no happy fellowship, just because they re- 
fuse to confess their sin to God. So long as we try 
to cover up our sin, God will not cover it ; but as soon 
as we confess it, God hides it, covers it up, buries it 
out of sight, puts it right away (Ps, xxxii. 1,2; ciii. 
12 ; Micah vii. 19). 

GEORGE RODGERS. 



132 BIBLE READINGS. 



LVI. 
SE LF-DENI AL. 
Christ our example, Matt. iv. 8-10 ; Rom. xv. 3 ; Phil. ii. 6-8. 

Necessary : 

A test of devotion, Matt. x. 37, 38 ; Luke xiv. 27, 33. 

In following Christ, Luke ix. 23, 24. 

In the warfare of saints, 2 Tim. ii. 4. 

In the triumph of saints, 2 Cor. ix. 25. 

In being crucified with Christ, Rom. vi. 6. 

Being crucified unto the world, Gal. vi. 14. 

Not pleasing ourselves, Rom. xv. 1-3. 

Not seeking our own profit, 1 Cor. x. 24 ; Phil. ii. 4. 

Preferring the profit of others, Rom. xiv. 20, 21 ; 1 Cor. 

x. 33- 

Even lawful things — not expedient, 1 Cor. x. 23 ; Esther 
iv. 16. 

Primitive Christian, Acts ii. 45. 

Barnabas, Acts iv. 36, 37. 

Arranged from English Text-book by S. H. M. 



LVII. 

A TEMPERANCE READING. 

Who was the first drunkard ? 

Did anybody mentioned in the Bible ever take the pledge of his 
own accord ? Dan. i. 8. 



BIBLE READINGS. ^3 

What was the result ? Dan. i. 15-17. 

Ought kings to drink ? Prov. xxxi. 4, 5. 

Ought we to make companions of drunkards ? 1 Cor. v. 11. 

Can any drunkard enter the kingdom of heaven ? 1 Cor. vi. 9, io, 

Does God pronounce a war upon drunkards ? Isa. v. II, 12. 

Why has God pronounced this war ? Isa. xxviii. 7, 8. 

Are drunkards likely to get rich ? Prov. xxi. 17. 

What are the consequences of drinking ? Prov. xxiii. 29, 30. 

How may we avoid these consequences ? Prov. xxiii. 31. 

What will be the result if we disregard this advice ? Prov 

xxiii. 32. 
Is it wise to tamper with strong drinks ? Prov. xx. 1. 
Where was the first temperance society ? Jer. xxxv. 6-8. 
What blessing did God give this society ? Jer. xxxv. 18, 19. 
Is intemperance a vice ? Gal. v. 21. 
Is temperance a virtue ? Gal. v. 22, 23. 

MRS. L. S. ROUNDS. 



LVIII. 

THE THREE-FOLD CONFLICT OF THE CHRISTIAN. 

1. The old and the new nature, Rom. vii. 18-25. 

2. The flesh against the Holy Spirit, Gal. v. 16, 17, etc. 

M The new nature is dependent ; on the Holy Spirit for power, and on the Word 
for guidance." C. H. M. 

3. The soul against evil spirits, Eph. vi. 10-17. 

J. C. H. 



134 BIBLE READINGS, 

LIX. 
SEVEN THINGS ABOUT BELIEVERS. 

1. What we were, i Pet. ii. 10 ; Eph. ii. 12, 13 ; Rom. v. 8, 10, 6 ; 

Eph. ii. 3, 1. 

2. What we are, Eph. ii. 13, 8; 1 Jno. iii. 2 ; 1 Pet. ii. 9, 10; 

Eph. iv. 30 ; 1 Cor. vi. 11 ; 1 Cor. iii. 23 ; Rom. vii. 14; Eph. 
ii. 20 ; 1 Pet. i. 5. 

3. What we are not, 1 Cor. vi. 10 ; Rom. vi. 14 ; viii. 9, 12. 

4. What we know, Rom. vii. 18; 2 Tim. i. 12; 1 Jno. iii. 14; 

Rom. viii. 28 (26) ; 2 Cor. v. 1 ; 1 Jno. iii. 2. 

5. What we have, Eph. i. 7 ; ii. 18 ; 1 Jno. v. 13 ; ii. I, 20 ; 2 Pet, 

i. 19; Heb. vi. 19. 

6. What we shall be, Col. iii. 4 ; 1 Jno. iii. 2. 

7. What we ought to be — you search this one out for yourself. 



LX. 

WHAT THE CHRISTIAN HAS. 

A life which can never be forfeited, John x. 28. 

A relationship which can never be broken, Gal. iii. 26. 

A righteousness which can never be tarnished, 2 Cor. v. 21. 

A peace which can never be disturbed, Eph. ii. 14. 

An acceptance which can never be questioned, Eph. i. 6. 

An inheritance which can never fade, 1 Pet. i. 4. 

A title which can never be disputed, Rev. v. 9. 

"S. A. H. ! 



BIBLE READINGS. 



135 



LXI. 

THE THREE-FOLD ASSURANCE OF 
SALVATION. 

The grounds of the assurance of salvation are 
three : In God are two — in Chrises death and in 
Christ's life in Glory ; and one in man, in the fruit 
of the Spirit. 

These may be spoken of as the primary and the 
secondary proofs of salvation — the latter from man, 
the former from God. The primary are two-fold, for 
God shows the believer God loved him when an 
enemy and unreconciled, and now much more being 
reconciled. 

I. The source of assurance in the believer is de- 
clared in such passages as the following : Gal. v. 22, 
23 ; the fruit of the Spirit, 1 John, in which the 
keeping of Christ's commandments, the love of the 
brethren, the doing of righteousness, the not loving 
the world, and kindred evidences, are set forth to 
prove one has passed from death into life, 1 Pet. i. 
5-1 1 ; the needful seven-linked chain of graces, Eph. 
iv. 22; v. 1-10; the new man. 



1 36 BIBLE READINGS, 

But God would not have the believer dependent 
upon this one source of assurance. Many children 
of God are in legal-mindedness occupied too much 
with their " evidences," but God has taken special 
pains by argument, even as in Romans v. 1-11, to 
allay the fear of the wrath to come. 

His argument is a double one. First it may be 
said, God loved us and Christ died for us when we 
were utterly vile and hateful, God himself being 
judge of that vileness. 

1. Jesus' pure, righteous shrinking from the least 
shadow and touch of sin, saw the heart of man, as 
in Mark vii. 21-23, an d yet moved among just such 
ones, and that to save in the most tender mercy. 

2. God sets man as a sinner in a most frightful 
light in Rom. i. 18-32; ii. 1-11 ; iii. 9-19; and yet the 
joy and glory is that to such the Gospel is preached, 
i. 14-18. 

3. God magnifies His grace in 1 Cor. vi. 9-1 1, to 
such vile Greeks. 

4. God delivered from this present evil age, Gal. i. 
4, the " fleshly" of, v. 19-21. 

5. God beheld "the old man" a very mass of cor- 
ruption, as in Eph. iv. 25-32, and yet Christ died for 
such, Eph. ii. 1-7. 



BIBLE READINGS. j^y 

6. God made Paul see what Paul had once been in 
the eye of God, and Paul could never be grateful 
enough for his salvation as among the " first " of sin- 
ners, i Tim. i. 12-17; 2 Tim. i. 9; Tit. iii. 3-7. 

II. Secondly, it may be said, that Christ not only 
died for us, but He also rose for us, Rom. v. 9, 10; 
2 Cor. v. 15 : "unto Him which died and rose again 
for them." He rose for us ; He now loves to appear 
in the presence of God for us. He is our Life, and 
nothing can touch that life, Col. iii. 4; Rom. xiv. 
8, 9 ; viii. 34 ; 1 Sam. xxv. 29. 

If God loved us when displeasing to Him, when 
enemies and unreconciled, much more being recon- 
ciled, we are loved and assuredly saved. 

1. The blood of Christ has cleansed us and made 
us fair. Beauty is more than deformity, Rev. i. 5 ; 
I Cor. vi. 11 ; Num. xxiii. 21 ; 2 Cor. v. 21. 

2. The Holy Spirit has renewed us and we love 
God now, and are at home with Him, and there is no 
reason we are not safe, 1 John iv. 19 ; John vi. 37 ; 
I Cor. ii. 9-12. 

3. We are friends of God : Christ made us such, 
John xv. 13-15. 

4. We are children of God, and great is the love 
bestowed on us, 1 John iv. 17; iii. 1-3. 



I38 BIBLE READINGS. 

5. We are the bride of Christ: He gave Himself 
for her, Eph. v. 25-27. 

6. We are spoken of, unworthy as we are, as in a 
still more intimate and endearing and exalted rela- 
tion, as the body of Christ, Eph. i. 22, 23 ; John xvii. — 
and all these relations spring out of resurrection, and 
over the whole extent of the believer's progress, from 
regeneration to glorification, the Lord Jesus has spe- 
cial regard and most faithful care. 

Yea! the believer can exclaim in view of God's 
elaborate argument, as in Rom. v. 1-1 1 and viii. 31-39 
(Ps. xxxii. 1, 2, 7); "God hath not appointed us to 
wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus 
Christ," 1 Thess. v. 9. 

God is thoroughly interested in our salvation. It 
is His glory, Eph. i. 4-7 ; and to know all the reasons 
for such assured salvation, the Holy Spirit inspired 
the prayer in Eph. i. 16-23. Men speak of the perse- 
verance of saints, but greater is that of God unto our 
salvation, 1 Pet. i. 3-5. 

1. Christ shed His blood for us. 

2. We are justified; therefore be assured of salvation. 

1. Christ died to reconcile us. 

2. We are reconciled ; therefore be assured of sal- 
vation. 



BIBLE READINGS, 



139 



I. Christ rose again for us, to live for us. 2. We 

rose in and with Him to God ; therefore be assured 

of salvation. We are safe through His death, we are 

safe in His life. 

W. J. ERDMAN. 



LXII. 
PRAYER AND PROMISES. 

Lord, be Thou my helper, Ps. xxx. 10. " Fear not, I will help 

thee," Isa. xli. 13. 
O Lord, I am in trouble, Ps. xxxi. 9. " Call upon me in the 

day of trouble, I will deliver thee," Ps. 1. 15. 
Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse from sin, 

Ps. li. 2. " I will. Be thou clean," Matt. viii. 3. 
Keep the door of thy lips, Ps. cxli. 3. " I will be with thy mouth 

and teach thee what to say," Ex. iv. 12. 
God be merciful to me a sinner, Luke xviii. 13. "Jesus comes 

into the world to save sinners," 1 Tim. i. 15. 
What must I do to be saved ? Acts xvi. 30. " Believe on the 

Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved," Acts xvi. 31. 
Oh, that I knew where I might find Him! Job xxiii. 3. "Ye 

shall seek Me and find Me when ye shall search for Me with 

all your heart," Jer. xxix. 13. 
Behold, I am vile ; what shall I answer Thee ? Job xi. 4. 

" Though thy sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as 

snow," Isa. i. 18. 
Create in me a clean heart, O God, Ps. li. 10. "A new heart 

also will I give you," Ezek. xxxvi. 26. 



140 



BIBLE READINGS. 



I am weary with my groaning, Ps. vi. 6. " Cast thy burden upon 

the Lord, and He shall sustain thee, ,, Ps. lv. 22. 
Leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation ! Ps. 

xxvii. 9. "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee," Heb. 

xiii. 5. 
Who is sufficient for these things ? 2 Cor. ii. 16. "My grace is 

sufficient for thee," 2 Cor. xii. 9. 
My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God, Ps. xlii. 2. " Thy 

eyes shall see the King in His beauty," Isa. xxxiii. 17. 
My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the 

morning, Ps. cxxx. 6. " They that shall wait upon the Lord 

shall renew their strength," Isa. xl. 30. 
The terrors of death have fallen upon me, Ps. lv. 4. " He that 

believeth on Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live," 

John xi. 25. 
Come, Lord Jesus ! " Surely I come quickly," Rev. xxii. 20. 

"Interior." 



LXIII. 
JOY. 

God is its Fountain and AutPhor. 

Joy of the Lord,. Neh. viii. 10. 

Rejoice in the Lord, Phil. iv. 4. 

Kingdom of God is joy, Rom. xiv. 17. 

Fruit of the Spirit, Gal. v. 22. 
f God giveth joy, Eccle. ii. 26 ; Ps. xlvi. 4. 

Joy's clear waters from eternal springs. The world gives 
happiness, ''that which happens" — God gives joy. 



BIBLE READINGS. 



141 



Christ the Soul's Joy, i Pet. i. 8 ; John xv. 11 ; xvii. 13. 

Joy essential to the highest Christian power for good, 
Neh. viii. 10; Ps. li. 12, 13. 

Joy our duty, Phil. iv. 14 ; Deut. xxviii. 47 ; Ps. cxlix. ; 
xxvii. 6. 

Meditation on God a joy, Isa. xii. 3. 

Fellowship a joy, Phil. ii. 17 ; 1 Thess. iii. 9; 2 John v. 12; 
Phil. iv. 1 ; 3 John 4 ; 2 Cor. ii. 3 ; vii. 13. 

Blessedness of causing joy, Job xxix. 13; 2 Cor. i. 24; 
Phil. i. 25 ; 1 John i. 4. 

Joy in toil, Ps. cxxvi. 5, 6 ; John iii. 29 ; 1 Thess. iii. 9 ; 
Luke x. 17 ; Acts ii. 46 ; xx. 24. 

Joy in suffering, Matt. v. 12 ; Heb. xii. 2 ; John xvi. 22 ; 
2 Cor. viii. 2 ; Jas. i. 2 ; Acts v. 41 ; 2 Cor. vii. 4 ; Heb. iii. 
18 ; x. 34 ; Acts v. 41 ; 1 Pet. iv. 13 ; Col. i. 11, 24. 

Joy of Heaven, Luke ii. 10 ; xv. 10 ; Jude 14 ; Ps. xvi. 11 ; 
Isa. li. 11 ; Matt. xxv. 23 ; 1 Thess. ii. 19, 20. 

REV. SALTER. 



LXIV. 

FOREIGN MISSIONS. 

Come over into Macedonia and help us, Acts xvi. 9. 

Christian missions may be defined a "help" given, Gen. iii. 15; 

Ps. xxxiii. 20 ; xlvi. 1 ; Isa. lxiii. 9 ; Matt. i. 21 ; Mark xvi. 

16 ; John iii. 14, 15. 

1. The Divine Commission to render this "Help." 

(a). By example, Ex. iii. 8 ; Isa. lxiii. 5 ; Luke xix. 10 ; 
Cf. Phil. ii. 4-8. 



142 



BIBLE READINGS. 



(<£). By precept, Luke xxiv. 46, 47 ; Matt. iv. 19 ; Acts 
viii. 4; Rom. x. 13, 14; 1 Cor. i. 21 ; Rev. xxii. 17. Para- 
ble of tbe Good Samaritan, Luke x. 30-37. A sick man was 
brought by friends to a hotel, and refused admittance for 
fear he would die there. A stranger stepped forward, 
claimed near relationship to the sick man, offered his room, 
and proposed to take a cot for himself. When the half-faint- 
ing sufferer had rested, and called in his timely benefactor, 
he asked an explanation of the relationship. The stranger 
replied : " Jesus has taught me that my neighbor is my 
brother. ,, 
The Nature of this "Help," Ps. ciii. 2-5; Isa. xxxv. 
1, 2 ; liii. 4, 5 ; Luke iv. 18, 19 ; Acts iii. 26 ; xxvi. 18 ; Gal. 
v. 1 ; Heb. vi. 19 ; 2 Tim. ii. 26. 

Blessed, Gen. xii. 3. 

Water to the thirsty, Isa. Iv. 1 ; John iv. 14 ; Rev. xxii. 17. 

Bread to the hungry, Isa. Iv. 2 ; John vi. 58. 
The Call for this Help. 

(a). Probation ends at death, 2 Cor. vi. 2 (last clause) 
Heb. ix. 27 ; Luke xvi. 25 ; John v. 29. 

(p). The sorrow of everlasting death, Heb. x. 27-31 ; 1 Pet. 
iv. 18 ; Matt. xxv. 41-46. 

(c). The reward of effort, Ps. cxxvi. 6 ; Gal. vi. 9 ; Jas. 
v. 20 ; Acts iv. 4 ; Ps. lxviii. 31 ; Isa. ix. 7 ; Heb. ii. 14 ; Ps. 
ii. 8; Is. xlix. 18. REV. E. P. RANKIN. 



LXV. 

WHY DOES THE CHRISTIAN SIN? 

The unbeliever expects to see a sinless life in one 
who makes a profession of religion. This idea is apt 






BIBLE READINGS. j^ 

to be retained for a short period even after conver- 
sion, so that when a young convert finds himself in 
his old ways — committing sin — he often thinks that 
his conversion was more imaginary than real. " Who- 
soever is born of God doth not commit sin, for his 
seed remaineth in him, and he can not sin because he 
is born of God " (i John iii. 9). This seems to give 
a good foundation for these ideas. But in the first 
chapter of the epistle, verse 8, the apostle apparently 
contradicts this by saying : " If we say that we have 
no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not 
in us." 

What is the key to this? It is found in Eph. iv. 
22 ; Rom. viii. 7 ; John iii. 3. The old man is cor- 
rupt ; the carnal mind can not be subject to the law 
of God. The converted man is not so much a changed 
man as he is a new man-. The old man is utterly in- 
capable of being obedient to God's law. If he were 
improved, changed for the better, he would still be 
the old man with the natural heart. That which is 
flesh is flesh, nothing else. You can not make a rose- 
bush out of a cucumber vine ; all the culture you 
could expend on it would never change its nature ; 
so with man's corrupt nature. It is not a changed 
heart that God gives ; it is a new one. It is not the 



144 BIBLE READINGS. 

old one propped up on crutches, with its wounds ban- 
daged, that is the result of the Spirit's work ; it is a 
new birth that is effected. When one is born " from 
above " (John iii. 3, margin), he has " eternal life," it 
is the " gift of God," and, hence, something he never 
had before, and of which he can never be dispos- 
sessed. " Because He lives, we shall live also." This 
new life will at once begin to manifest itself, and at 
once it is opposed, restrained ; there are found to be 
contending desires in the soul (Rom. vii. 18-25 ; Gal. 
v. 16-17 ; Eph. vi. 10-17). We wish to do the right, 
but we do evil. The old man is alive still, and he 
finds a rival. There is war (Rom. vii. 23). Here are 
two natures existing side by side in the Christian : 
the evil inciting to evil, the good urging to good. 

First John iii. 9, is true as it stands ; it is the idea 
in the original. We must not attempt to explain it 
away, for it is, evidently, spoken not of the old man, 
but of the new, that which is born of God. It is, 
therefore, like God, can not sin. Sin is of the devil ; 
the old nature is as he is, loving sin. 

This might be illustrated to a slight extent by the 
process of grafting. Take a wild peach-tree, put in 
a graft from the Crawford variety, and the graft will 
bear Crawford peaches. The graft is the insertion of 



BIBLE READINGS. ^5 

a new nature ; it is not intended as an improvement 
of the wild peach, but to produce a widely different 
result. The old stock will send out shoots ; these, 
if allowed to grow, will bear bitter peaches, so that 
at the same time you would have bitter and sweet 
fruit on the same tree. The Crawford branch can 
not bear bitter fruit, neither can the old stock bear 
the luscious Crawford. So in man's new nature he 
can not, he does not sin, but in his old he does. For- 
giveness of sins does not affect the nature that pro- 
duces the sin ; it will continue to incite to evil until a 
separation is made in death between the spiritual and 
the carnal. 

What advantage, then, hath the Christian ? He 
cries out, Who shall deliver from this dead body? 
(Rom. vii. 24). Christ delivers (Rom. vi. 6-8). " Our 
old man is crucified with him." " If we be dead with 
Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him." 
Col. iii. 3, makes it more forcible, " Ye are dead." As 
far as God's law is concerned, we are dead. What is 
true of our Vicar, is true of us. He died, so there is, 
therefore, no condemnation, because we are, in Him, 
united by adoring faith. God does not look to the 
believer for a satisfaction to violated law ; that He 
seeks from our Substitute, our Daysman, our Shield, 



1 46 BIBLE READINGS. 

our Righteousness. We are accepted in the Beloved ; 
we are imperfect in ourselves, but in Him complete. 

What are we to do when we sin ? Go to the Father. 
He is faithful, just ; He forgives and cleanses. He 
is glad to do it (Luke xv.) Then " reckon ye your- 
selves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God through 
Jesus Christ our Lord." " Let not sin, therefore, 
reign in your mortal body." " Grow in grace." 

" But I can't," you say. Listen : " My strength 

will be made perfect in weakness ;" " My grace is 

sufficient for thee." Trust in these. " Have faith in 

God." The promises are not like weak, treacherous 

ice, on which you dread to trust yourself. They are 

as the solid earth, yea, more lasting — the eternal 

words of the eternal God. 

J. C. H. 



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